TIANJIN, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- China has reported 4.6 times more cases of thyroid cancer over the past decade, with women worst hit.

　　Young and middled-aged women are most vulnerable to papillary thyroid carcinoma, the most common thyroid cancer, three out of every four patients are female, according to a national academic conference on thyroid cancer in Tianjin.

　　Big cities and coastal areas are among the high risk regions. The increase of cases is closely related to better examination methods, said Gao Ming, vice president of Tianjin Tumor Hospital.

　　Ultrasonic technology can help find minor thyroid tumors that used to go undetected, but 95 percent patients can recover with early treatment.

　　There is no enough evidence to prove a direct link between thyroid cancer and iodized salt, which has been used nationwide since 1993 in an attempt to prevent iodine deficiency (IDD) in China.

　　The iodized salt panic is a distraction, according to the experts. Overdoses of iodine could possibly lead to papillary thyroid carcinoma, but iodine deficiency will result in thyroid follicular carcinomas.

　　Cancer is a growing threat to health in China due to unhealthy lifestyles and a deteriorating environment. China reports 3.5 million new cases of cancer each year. And 2.5 million people, nearly the population of Kuwait, die of cancers each year in China.