Regional disparities in major cancer incidence in South Korea, 1999–2018

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated regional disparities in the incidence of 8 major cancers at the municipal level in Korea during 1999-2018 and evaluated the presence or absence of hot spots of cancer clusters during 2014-2018.METHODS: The Korea National Cancer Incidence Database was used. Age-standardized incidence rates were calculated by gender and region at the municipal level for 4 periods of 5 years and 8 cancer types. Regional disparities were calculated as both absolute and relative measures. The possibility of clusters was examined using global Moran’s I with a spatial weight matrix based on adjacency or distance.RESULTS: Regional disparities varied depending on cancer type and gender during the 20-year study period. For men, the regional disparities of stomach, colon and rectum, lung, and liver cancer declined, and those of thyroid and prostate cancer recently decreased, despite an overall increasing incidence. For women, regional disparities in stomach, colon and rectum, lung, liver, and cervical cancer declined, that of thyroid cancer recently decreased, despite an overall increasing incidence, and that of breast cancer steadily increased. In 2014-2018, breast cancer (I, 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53 to 0.70) showed a high probability of cancer clusters in women, and liver cancer (I, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.56) showed a high probability of cancer clusters in men.CONCLUSIONS: Disparities in cancer incidence that were not seen at the national level were discovered at the municipal level. These results could provide important directions for planning and implementing local cancer policies.

What is the relationship between the local population change and cancer incidence in patients with dyslipidemia: Evidence of the impact of local extinction in Korea

“…Previous studies have often associated local population numbers with cancer incidence, suggesting that they reflect access to healthcare and may contribute to overdiagnosis. 27 , 28 However, our study reveals a different trend. Even after excluding cancer‐related overdiagnosis, our results demonstrate that the number of patients with cancer increases or decreases because of changes in population size.…”

“…Based on our findings, this study examined the relationship between changes in regional characteristics and cancer incidence from a different perspective compared to that in previous studies. Previous studies have often associated local population numbers with cancer incidence, suggesting that they reflect access to healthcare and may contribute to overdiagnosis 27,28 . However, our study reveals a different trend.…”

Hormone Replacement Therapy and Risks of Various Cancers in Postmenopausal Women with De Novo or a History of Endometriosis

“…In the present study, women who were more recently diagnosed with endometriosis had an increased risk of uterine and ovarian cancers, which coincided with a continued increase in the annual incidence of those cancers (KCCR), while women who were more recently diagnosed with endometriosis had a decreased risk of colon, gastric, liver, and lung cancers, which coincided with a continued decrease in the annual incidence of those cancers (KCCR) (Table S3) [34][35][36]. However, the risk of cervical cancer, with a consistent decrease in annual incidence (KCCR), has increased for women diagnosed with endometriosis more recently (Table S3) [33,35].…”