National Cancer Center Conducts Campaign to Commemorate 'World Cancer Day'

The National Cancer Center announced on the 1st that it held a signing ceremony for a statement to participate in 'World Cancer Day' organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC).

Seo Hong-gwan, Director of the National Cancer Center (center), and other officials are posing for a commemorative photo at the signing ceremony to participate in 'World Cancer Day.'
[Photo by National Cancer Center]

World Cancer Day, designated annually on February 4th, was first established at the World Cancer Summit held in Paris, France, in 2000. Since then, UICC has been leading campaigns to raise awareness about cancer and support cancer patients starting from 2005. The mid-term theme for the three years from 2022 to 2024 is 'Closing the Cancer Treatment Gap.' The National Cancer Center has been selected as a partner institution of UICC since 2019 and has participated in the World Cancer Day commemorative campaigns since 2021.

On the occasion of World Cancer Day, UICC has worked to raise awareness worldwide about the issue of disparities in cancer treatment and to eliminate imbalances in cancer care and treatment. In particular, as a way to conclude the mid-term theme for 2022-2024, the Union for International Cancer Control planned an event to collect signatures from related organizations and the general public in various countries and deliver them to governments to encourage governmental action and efforts. The National Cancer Center also joined this World Cancer Day campaign and held a signing ceremony on the 31st of last month in the advanced conference room on the 3rd floor of the administration building to complete signing the statement sent by the Union for International Cancer Control.

Dr. Seo Hong-gwan, Director of the National Cancer Center, said, “The National Cancer Center has once again joined the campaign led by UICC to close the cancer gap and unite our intentions this year. South Korea’s 5-year relative survival rate for cancer patients is 72.1%, having increased by 6.6 percentage points over the past 10 years, demonstrating excellent results in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Taking this campaign as an opportunity, the National Cancer Center will take the lead in ensuring that all citizens receive balanced cancer treatment regardless of region, social, or economic status.”