Objective  Population-based cancer registration data were used to analyze stomach cancer epidemiology in China.

  Methods   Stomach cancer data were retrieved from the National Central Cancer Registry Database, and incident and death cases were esti-mated. The trend of stomach cancer was analyzed.

  Results   Approximately 424,000 new cancer cases and 298,000 cancer deaths oc-curred in China in 2012. The incidence and mortality rates of stomach cancer in urban males and females remained stable in 2000-2012, whereas the rates in rural males increased and less changes were observed in rural females. After age standardization, both inci-dence and mortality rates significantly decreased. The five-year age-standardized relative survival rate was 27.4% (95% CI: 26.7%-18.1%) in 2003-2005.

  Conclusion   Stomach cancer is a common cancer, which has heavy burden in China, particularly in rural areas. Ef-forts should be exerted for the prevention and control of the disease.