Cancer Res Treat.  2016 Jul;48(3):892-898. 10.4143/crt.2015.370.

The Clinical Status of Radiation Therapy in Korea in 2009 and 2013

• Kang JK
• Kim MS
• Jang WI
• Kim HJ
• Cho CK
• Yoo HJ
• Seo YS
• Paik EK
• Cha YJ

• KMID: 2344061
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2015.370

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to estimate the clinical status of radiation therapy (RT) in Korea.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We analyzed open claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). The subjects were patients with malignant neoplasms who had procedure codes concerning RT in 2009 and 2013.
RESULTS
The total numbers of patients who underwent RT in 2009 and 2013 were 42,483 and 56,850, respectively. The numbers of men and women were 20,012 and 22,471 in 2009 and 26,936 and 29,914 in 2013, respectively. The five most frequent RT sites were metastatic, breast, gastrointestinal, thoracic, and gynecologic cancers in 2009, and metastatic, breast, gastrointestinal, thoracic and head and neck cancers in 2013. The three leading types of cancer among men were metastatic, gastrointestinal, and thoracic, and breast, metastatic, and gynecologic among women. According to age, the most common treatment site was the central nervous system for those aged 20 years or less, the breast for those in their 30s to 50s, and metastatic sites for those in their 60s or older.
CONCLUSION
Data from this study provide an overview of the clinical status of RT in Korea.

Keyword

Neoplasms; Radiotherapy; Statistics; Korea; 2009; 2013

MeSH Terms

Breast
Central Nervous System
Female
Head
Humans
Insurance, Health
Korea*
Male
Neck
Radiotherapy

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Total number of patients who underwent radiation therapy in 2009 and 2013 in Korea.

• 

  Fig. 2. Cancer incidence and total number of patients who received radiation therapy through 2001 to 2013 in Korea. The cancer incidence for 2013 is the value predicted by Jung et al. [12].

• 

  Fig. 3. Time course of the number of patients who received radiation therapy at seven main sites.

Reference

References

1. Jung KW, Won YJ, Kong HJ, Oh CM, Cho H, Lee DH, et al. Cancer statistics in Korea: incidence, mortality, survival, and prevalence in 2012. Cancer Res Treat. 2015; 47:127–41.

2. Lee TJ, Kim S, Cho HJ, Lee JH. The incidence of thyroid cancer is affected by the characteristics of a healthcare system. J Korean Med Sci. 2012; 27:1491–8.

3. You SY, Kim MS, Ji YH, Cho CK, Yang KM, Ryu HJ. National statistics of radiation oncology in Korea (1999-2001). J Korean Soc Ther Radiol Oncol. 2004; 22:234–6.

4. Kim MS, Ji YH, You SY, Cho CK, Yang KM, Ryu HJ. National statistics of radiation oncology in Korea (2002-2004). J Korean Soc Ther Radiol Oncol. 2006; 24:77–80.

5. Kim MS, Ji YH, You SY, Cho CK, Yang KM, Ryu HJ, et al. National statistics of radiation oncology in Korea (2005). J Korean Soc Ther Radiol Oncol. 2006; 24:207–9.

6. Ji YH, Kim MS, You SY, You DH, Choi MS, Jung HJ. National statistics of radiation oncology in Korea (2006). J Korean Soc Ther Radiol Oncol. 2008; 26:131–3.

7. Song SY, Ahn SD, Chung WK, Shin KH, Choi EK, Cho KH. Development of new on-line statistical program for the Korean Society for Radiation Oncology. Radiat Oncol J. 2015; 33:142–8.

8. Kim L, Kim JA, Kim S. A guide for the utilization of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service National Patient Samples. Epidemiol Health. 2014; 36:e2014008.

9. Ji YH, Kim MS, Jung H, Yoo SY, Cho CK. Clinical characteristics of radiation oncology in Korea during past 10 years. J Korean Med Sci. 2009; 24:1165–9.

10. Jung KW, Won YJ, Park S, Kong HJ, Sung J, Shin HR, et al. Cancer statistics in Korea: incidence, mortality and survival in 2005. J Korean Med Sci. 2009; 24:995–1003.

11. Jung KW, Park S, Kong HJ, Won YJ, Lee JY, Seo HG, et al. Cancer statistics in Korea: incidence, mortality, survival, and prevalence in 2009. Cancer Res Treat. 2012; 44:11–24.

12. Jung KW, Won YJ, Kong HJ, Oh CM, Seo HG, Lee JS. Prediction of cancer incidence and mortality in Korea, 2013. Cancer Res Treat. 2013; 45:15–21.