National Health Insurance Service and Korean Association for Lung Cancer Release 2024 Lung Cancer White Paper
Chemotherapy Most Commonly Administered Treatment
The incidence rate of lung cancer, which has the highest mortality rate among cancers in South Korea, has increased over the past 15 years, but survival rates have improved. More than 6 out of 10 patients were between the ages of 60 and 79.
According to the "2024 Lung Cancer White Paper," jointly published on June 13 by the National Health Insurance Service and the Korean Association for Lung Cancer based on data from 2008 to 2023 for people aged 20 and older who maintained their medical aid and health insurance status, the crude incidence rate of lung cancer in South Korea rose from 0.047% in 2008 to 0.073% in 2023.
The crude incidence rate refers to the number of new malignant cancer cases in a specific population during the observation period, divided by the total population.
However, the age-standardized incidence rate of lung cancer per 100,000 people increased from 69.4 in 2008 to 71.5 in 2018, then decreased to 66.3 in 2023. This comparison uses the age-standardized incidence rate, which adjusts for the impact of changes in age structure on lung cancer incidence.
Of all patients, 64.4% were between the ages of 60 and 79. The most common treatment within one year of diagnosis was chemotherapy, and the number of surgical treatments also increased. In contrast, the use of radiation therapy showed a declining trend.
Looking at the types of treatment received within one year after a lung cancer diagnosis, the number of patients who underwent surgery increased from 3,968 in 2008 to 12,786 in 2023. The number of patients who chose radiation therapy decreased from 4,954 to 3,380 during the same period.
Although the number of lung cancer patients has increased, survival rates have improved. The one-year survival rate rose from 48.6% in 2008 to 68.4% in 2023, and the five-year survival rate increased from 18.5% to 35.7%.
The National Health Insurance Service and the Korean Association for Lung Cancer plan to continue in-depth joint research to expand the basic public health indicators for lung cancer by identifying the current status of lung cancer incidence and treatment types, and to develop improvement measures focused on prevention and appropriate management.
Jung Ki-seok, chairman of the board, stated, "We will support policy decision-making related to lung cancer by regularly publishing the white paper and producing useful basic statistics," adding, "We hope that the research results will help promote public health and improve health equity."
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