Cancer and industrial activities in China

Abstract Associations between pollution and life expectancy, infant mortality, and cardiorespiratory disease are documented in China. Yet, less is known about environmental drivers of Chinese cancers. Here, we systematically link polluting industrial activity to cancer incidence, cancer mortality, and cancer cluster designations. We investigate county-level associations between industrial production and age-adjusted incidence and mortality reported in official cancer registries. We then combine the locations of roughly 3 million enterprises with administrative data from roughly 600,000 villages and cancer cluster documentation from 380 villages. We show that county-level value-added from industry is associated with age-adjusted incidence and mortality for all cancers; bronchus, trachea, and lung cancers; stomach cancers; and esophageal cancers. We show that the odds that a village contains a documented cancer cluster increase 3-4 times if the village contains a pollution-intensive industrial facility. Leather, chemical, and dye enterprises appear to drive results. All else equal, smaller facilities increase the odds of cancer clusters.