Socioeconomic Burden of Cancer in Korea from 2011 to 2015

Abstract

PurposeThough the socioeconomic burden of cancer on patients is increasing in South Korea, there is little research regarding the type of cancer that incurs the highest costs. This study analyzed the socioeconomic burden on cancer patients from 2011 to 2015 according to sex and age.Materials and MethodsA prevalence-based approach was applied utilizing claim data of the National Health Insurance Service in Korea to estimate the socioeconomic burden of cancer on patients. Patients who received treatment for cancer from 2011 to 2015 were the study subjects. The total socioeconomic burden of their disease and treatment was divided into direct and indirect costs.ResultsThere was an increase of 50.7% for 5 years, from 821,525 to 1,237,739 cancer patients. The cancer costs for men and women increased $8,268.4 million to $9,469.7 million and $3,626.5 million to $4,475.6 million, respectively. Furthermore, the 50-59-year-old age group accounted for a large portion of the total disease cost. Liver, lung, stomach, and colorectal cancers created the heaviest economic burdens on patients.ConclusionOverall, this study indicates new policies for cancer prevention, early detection, and postcancer treatment management are necessary to help limit the costs associatedwith cancer, especially in the elderly, and provides a foundation for establishing cancer-related health care policies, particularly by defining those cancers with heavier disease burdens.

Population-level economic burden of lung cancer in China: Provisional prevalence-based estimations, 2017−2030

“…In our analysis, the indirect burden could account for 55.7% of the total burden, in which the cost of premature death accounted for the majority. The distribution is in accordance with the estimation for lung cancer from the US ( 36 ), the United Kingdom ( 36 ), and Korea ( 7 ). Most lung cancer patients undergo worse survival, with 5 relative survival rates of 19.7% in China ( 17 ).…”

“…For the EU, the economic burden of lung cancer in 2009 was €18.8 billion, which was up to 0.160% of the local GDP ( 8 ). For Korea, the economic burden of lung cancer in 2015 was $19.9 billion, which accounted for 0.139% of the local GDP ( 7 ). For Iran, the total burden of lung cancer was only up to 0.03% of the local GDP in 2014 ( 34 ).…”

“…Multiple factors could lead to these variations across countries. Apart from the methodology ( 34 ) and types of economic burden ( 7 ), differences in the disease burden of lung cancer contribute greatly ( 16 ). Based on results from GBD 2017, the number of prevalent cases were 483,923, 50,059, 7,235, and 1,271,722 for the EU in 2009, Korea in 2015, Iran in 2014, and China in 2017, respectively ( 16 ).…”

“…In the US, the direct medical expenditure associated with lung cancer was $20.10 billion in 2015 and this figure is expected to increase ( 6 ). In Korea, the total economic burden of lung cancer is $1.9 billion ( 7 ). These estimations and projections of the economic burden of lung cancer in foreign countries have provided valuable evidence for local policymaking and resource allocation.…”

Liver Stiffness-Based Risk Prediction Model for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

“…HCC is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide [ 6 ]. In the ROK, the number of annual deaths and crude death rate have been reported to increase since 2013 due to liver cancer [ 7 ], which is still the second largest cause of cancer mortality and the most economically burdensome cancer [ 8 ]. Indeed, the prevalence of NAFLD-related HCC appears to have increased over time [ 4 , 9 , 10 ].…”