At the 10th International Gastric Cancer Congress, which took place from June 19 to 22 in Verona, Italy, China was chosen to hold the IGCC 2017.

It will be the first time that China will host the influential gastric cancer academic conference.

The conference is held biennially on a rotating basis. It was first held in Japan in 1995.

During the IGCC 2013, thousands of top experts in the field attended the conference, including 120 from China.

China is among the countries with the highest gastric cancer incidence rates in the world, and it is estimated that of the 1 million new gastric cancer cases globally every year, about half are in China, said Ji Jiafu, president of Beijing Cancer Hospital, who headed the team that helped China earn the right to host the 2017 conference.

Gastric cancer has four progressing stages, and about 60 to 70 percent of gastric cancer patients in China are in the third and fourth stages. Unhealthy lifestyle, especially bad eating habits and a lack of early detection, are factors affecting China’s gastric cancer prevalence, Ji said.

Hosting the IGCC 2017 will encourage Chinese medical professionals in the field, and there will be more Chinese experts to deliver lectures at IGCC 2017 to help gastric cancer patients worldwide, Ji said.