In recent years, the prevalence of breast cancer in China has been rising fast. He said that could be because more people have adopted Western lifestyles, including high-stress careers and high-cholesterol and high-fat diets.

During the past decade, the number of women with breast cancer has surged by more than 20 percent on the mainland, he said, noting that the rates have gone up by even more than that in major cities.

In Shanghai, the rates increased by 400 percent during past 30 years and the incidence of breast cancer now stands at 70 per 100,000, Zhang added.

Also, "the rise is particularly affecting younger women before the menopause compared with Western countries. Some clinical doctors have even reported cases of women with the disease who are less than 20," Shen noted.

The incidence rate among urban women is 40 per 100,000. In the countryside it stands at 15 per 100,000, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Health.

Worldwide, Asian countries are seen as having low rates of breast cancer according to the World Health Organization.

The United States, which has a rate of 101.1 per 100,000, is the most heavily affected country.

Generally speaking, Caucasian women are more likely than Asian women to get breast cancer, experts said.

However, international studies have found that breast cancer rates among Chinese women who have been in the US for more than 10 years are 80 percent higher than among those who just arrived. The rate of breast cancer cases among American-born Asian women is similar to that among American-born Caucasians.