Despite large expenditures on cancer research, more people die from cancer now than ever before, a leading British cancer researcher said yesterday in Science Center B.

Dr. John Cairns, director of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in Mill Hill, London, addressed about 250 people yesterday in the first part of a three-lecture series, "Some Facets of the Cancer Problem."

Cairns said scientists have succeeded in combatting only about 1 per cent of all cancers. "I have about the same probability of dying of cancer in the next year as my father had at my age," he said.

Deaths from cancer have increased in the past century because people are living longer, Cairns said, adding that cancer is a disease that primarily affects older people.

Cairns said a decline in infectious diseases occurred in the 19th century mainly because of improved nutrition, and not because of scientific discoveries. "There's a fairly good precedent for saying that cancer will be conquered by charges in life-style rather than by the actions of science," he said.

The cancer death rate for middle-aged Mormons living in California is about half as high as the cancer death rate for other middle-aged California whites, Cairns said. "It is quite plain that you can do something about it, because the Mormons have," he said.

Cairns cited statistics indicating cancer cells may be present in the body for many years before the disease becomes apparent. "In the case of lung cancer, there is a 20 to 25 year lag between people doing something to themselves, and getting the consequences," he said.

Massachusetts residents have particular cause for concern, according to Cairns. "If you live around here, your probability of dying of cancer is about one-third higher than if you lived in a Rocky Mountain state," he said.

Cairns will speak on the causes of human cancer today in Science Center B at 5 p.m. in the second part of the series.