OTTAWA, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Cancer may become the biggest killer of Canadians in five years, overtaking cardiovascular disease which has been occupying the place for many years, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

    Over the past 25 years, the number of deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases has been declining while cancer-caused deaths have been on the rise, the national agency said in its 2004 issue of "Mortality, Summary List of Causes."

    In 1979, cardiovascular diseases were responsible for 47 percent of all deaths in Canada. But by 2004, the percentage had declined to 32 percent. With cancer rates, 23 percent of all deaths were attributed to cancer in 1979, but by 2004 the percentage had risen to 30 percent, the agency said.

    In real numbers, that means 66,947 people died in 2004 from cancer, an increase of 6.8 percent from 2000. In contrast, 72,338 people died from cardiovascular diseases, a 4.9 percent drop from 2000.

    If the trend continues at its current rate, the cancer and cardiovascular paths will intersect sometime in the next five years, when cancer rates will surpass cardiovascular deaths, according to a StatsCan line graph charting the rates since 1979.