BEIJING - Additives in food are one of the main reasons for the sharp rise in the number of people with malignant lymphoma cancer, according to an expert.

Wang Jinfen, a member of the lymphoma committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, said at the 12th national symposium on lymphoma in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, that there have been at least 25,000 lymphoma cancer cases annually in China during the past decade.

Lymphoma cancer is responsible for about 1.5 deaths in every 100,000 and is ranked annually at around 12th place in the list of the nation's biggest killers, Wang added.