Bengaluru, June 28: Concerned over the spread of cancer at an alarming rate due to changing lifestyles, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday called for setting up of more cancer treatment units in rural areas to fight the dreaded disease.

"While cancer hospitals and treatment facilities are available in many urban areas, we need to establish cancer units for early detection, diagnosis and treatment in rural areas," said Naidu after unveiling a new state cancer institute block at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology here.

The government needs to find policy alternatives in order to make cancer treatment affordable for all, including about 70 per cent population living in the rural areas, Naidu said.

"No doubt, huge investments are needed for trained man power and equipment, but the government should explore various policy alternatives that would make cancer treatment affordable," he added.

With nearly five lakh deaths occurring annually in the country due to cancer, there was a need for greater awareness on the risks of developing the disease due to sedentary lifestyle, pollution, the Vice President stressed.

It is estimated that there are about 30 lakh cases of cancer in the country at any particular point of time, with nearly 10 lakh new cases occurring each year.

Quoting the projections by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2016, Naidu said that by 2020 the number of new cancer cases was expected to touch 17.3 lakh and the deaths 8.8 lakh.

According to the National Cancer Registry Programme of the ICMR, nearly one in every 15 men and one in every 12 women in urban parts of the country who can develop cancer, with breast cancer and mouth cancer being common among women and men respectively, Naidu added.

Governor Vajubhai R. Vala, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Irrigation and Medical Education Minister D.K. Shivakumar were among those present on the occasion. 

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Beijing, Nov 16: Eight persons were killed and 17 injured in a knife attack at a vocational school in east China's Jiangsu Province on Saturday, local police officials said.

The attack took place at around 6:30 pm at the Wuxi Vocational Institute of Arts and Technology in Yixing City.

The 21-year-old suspect, surnamed Xu, was caught at the scene and he confessed to his crime, according to a statement released by the public security bureau of Yixing, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the police, Xu, a graduate of the school this year, returned to the school to vent his anger for not receiving his graduation certificate due to failing exams and for dissatisfaction with his internship pay.

Rescue efforts are underway and police are further investigating the case, the report said.

This is the second attack on civilians this week.

On November 12, thirty-five people were killed and 43 injured when a man ploughed his car into a crowd of people at a sports centre in Zhuhai city.

Police who detained a man called Fan said his actions stemmed from his dissatisfaction with the property division outcome of his divorce.

Expressing concern over the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged all-out efforts to treat the injured.

Car ramming incidents, besides knife attacks on civilians, have been taking place periodically in China in recent months. The incidents are routinely blamed on disgruntled elements by security officials.