for most age groups in South Korea. While incidence rates varied by age and gender, thyroid cancer was the
overall. Breast cancer, despite almost exclusively affecting women, was the fifth-most common cancer. As of 2023,
stood at around 10.2 trillion South Korean won. This happened alongside an increase in patients and includes various costs such as screenings, diagnostics, and treatment.
Patient demographics
In South Korea,
men experienced a higher cancer incidence rate than women, though both have seen an increase in diagnoses over the past two decades. A 2022 report noted that
men underwent fewer cancer screenings than women did. Some forms of cancer are exclusive to one sex, such as ovarian and testicular cancer. Others, while not exclusive to one sex, are predominantly associated with one, such as breast cancer. Furthermore, there was a large discrepancy between the number of men and women being screened for lung cancer despite both being affected by it. In terms of age, the
crude incidence rate of cancer in South Korea was highest among those aged 65 years and older, at about 1,569 cases per 100,000 population.
Surviving cancer as patient numbers rise
Lung cancer was the
most common cancer diagnosis in the age bracket most affected by cancer in South Korea, as well as one of the most common overall. This type of cancer had one of the lowest
five-year survival rates in the country, at only 38.5 percent, meaning that significantly less than half of patients diagnosed with lung cancer survived longer than five years post-diagnosis. Lung cancer is also generally one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. On the other hand, thyroid cancer, which was the most common type in South Korea, had a very high survival rate with a good prognosis for patients. The overall survival rate of cancer patients in South Korea has drastically improved since 1995, up from about 43 percent to 72 percent in 2021. However, diagnosed cases have also increased across various cancer types. Pancreatic cancer, which has seen an almost 35 percent
increase in patient numbers since 2019, had the lowest survival rate of all major cancers recorded in South Korea, with only 16 percent of patients living past five years.
Outlook for cancer patients in South Korea
With continuing improvements in the fields of diagnostics and treatment, the number of cancer patients in South Korea has increased, but so has their
chance of survival. As a natural consequence, medical spending on cancer has also increased. Despite this, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death within the country.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
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Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
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