Cancer Res Treat.  2013 Sep;45(3):162-171.

Survival of Korean Adult Cancer Patients by Stage at Diagnosis, 2006-2010: National Cancer Registry Study

• Jung KW
• Won YJ
• Kong HJ
• Oh CM
• Shin A
• Lee JS

Abstract

PURPOSE
Although the cancer stage at diagnosis is the most important prognostic factor for patients' survival, there are few population-based estimates of stage-specific survival outcome, especially in Asian countries. Our study aims to estimate stage-specific survival for Korean patients.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We analyzed the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database data on 626,506 adult patients aged > or = 20 years, who were diagnosed between 2006 and 2010 with stomach, colorectal, liver, lung, breast, cervix, prostate, and thyroid cancers. Patients were followed up to December 2011, and the 5-year relative survival rates (RSRs) were calculated for gender and age group by Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) stage at diagnosis.
RESULTS
The 5-year RSRs for all localized-stage cancers, except for lung and liver, exceeded 90% with that for thyroid cancer being the highest at 100.4%. These values for distant stage liver, lung, and stomach cancers were very dismal at 2.5%, 4.8%, and 5.5%, respectively, while it was 69.1% for thyroid cancer, and was in the range of 18.3-36.4% for colorectal, cervix, breast and prostate cancers. Overall, the 5-year RSRs for all cancer types decreased with aging across all the disease stages with exception of prostate cancer, which suggests biologic difference in these cancer types in a young age group. When compared with US SEER data, Korean patients had better stage-specific survival rates for stomach, colorectal, liver, and cervical cancers.
CONCLUSION
Korean cancer patients showed relatively favorable stage distribution and 5-year RSRs, which suggests potential contribution of the national cancer screening program.

Keyword

Korea; Neoplasms; Survival; Stage; Cancer Registry

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Aging
Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Breast
Cervix Uteri
Early Detection of Cancer
Female
Humans
Incidence
Korea
Liver
Lung
Prostate
Prostatic Neoplasms
Stomach
Stomach Neoplasms
Survival Rate
Thyroid Gland
Thyroid Neoplasms

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Distribution of 5-year relative survival rates by Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) summary staging and age at diagnosis.

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