PurposeThis study reports the cancer statistics and temporal trends in Korea on a nationwide scale, including incidence, survival, prevalence, and mortality in 2017.Materials and MethodsThe incidence, survival, and prevalence rates of cancer were evaluated using data from the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database from 1999 to 2017 with follow-up until December 31, 2018. Deaths from cancer were assessed using cause-of-death data from 1983 to 2017, obtained from Statistics Korea. Crude and age-standardized rates (ASRs) for incidence, mortality, and prevalence, and 5-year relative survival rates were calculated and trend analysis was performed.ResultsIn 2017, newly diagnosed cancer cases and deaths from cancer numbered 232,255 (ASR, 264.4 per 100,000) and 78,863 (ASR, 76.6 per 100,000), respectively. The overall cancer incidence rates increased annually by 3.5% from 1999 to 2011 and decreased by 2.7% annually thereafter. Cancer mortality rates have been decreasing since 2002, by 2.8% annually. The 5-year relative survival rate for all patients diagnosed with cancer between 2013 and 2017 was 70.4%, which contributed to a prevalence of approximately 1.87 million cases by the end of 2017.ConclusionThe burden of cancer measured by incidence and mortality rates have improved in Korea, with the exception of a few particular cancers that are associated with increasing incidence or mortality rates. However, cancer prevalence is increasing rapidly, with the dramatic improvement in survival during the past several years. Comprehensive cancer control strategies and efforts should continue, based on the changes of cancer statistics.

This is the first attempt to determine the national cancer incidence and this data will be useful to plan for research and national cancer control in Korea.

The current study provides national cancer statistics and their secular trends in Korea, including incidence, mortality, survival, and prevalence in 2019. Materials and MethodsIncidence, survival, and prevalence rates of cancer were calculated using the Korea National

PurposeThis study aimed to report the projected cancer incidence and mortality for the year 2020 to estimate Korea’s current cancer burden.Materials and MethodsCancer incidence data from 1999 to 2017 were obtained from the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database, and cancer mortality data from 1993 to 2018 were acquired from Statistics Korea. Cancer incidence and mortality were projected by fitting a linear regression model to observed age-specific cancer rates against observed years and then by multiplying the projected age-specific rates by the age-specific population. A <i>Joinpoint</i> regression model was used to determine the year in which the linear trend changed significantly; we only used the data of the latest trend.ResultsIn total, 243,263 new cancer cases and 80,546 cancer deaths are expected to occur in Korea in 2020. The most common cancer site is expected to be the lung, followed by the stomach, thyroid, colon/rectum, and breast. These five cancers types are expected to represent half of the overall burden of cancer in Korea. The most common type of cancer among people who die is expected to be lung cancer, followed by liver, colon/rectal, pancreatic, and stomach cancers.ConclusionThe incidence rates for all types of cancer in Korea are estimated to decrease gradually. These up-to-date estimates of the cancer burden in Korea could be an important resource for planning and evaluating cancer-control programs.

R esults: O f the total of 99,025 malignancies, 55,398 (55.9% ) cases were males and 43,627 (44.1% ) were fem ales. M ore than one third of cases were from the elderly (65 years old and more). The six leading primary cancer sites in the order of their relative frequency, were stomach (24.0% ), followed by the lung (16.0% ), the liver (15.4% ), the colorectum (11.6% ), the bladder (3.2% ), and the prostate (3.0% ) among males. In females, the breast (16.8% ) was the common cancer site, followed by the stomach (15.3% ), the colorectum (10.7% ), the thyroid gland (9.5% ), the cervix uteri (9.1% ), and the lung (6.6% ).C onclusion: W ith the continued increase in cancer cases especially prostate cancer among males and thyroid cancer among females, the total number of registered cancer cases in Korea continues to rapidly increase.