Endocrinol Metab.  2014 Dec;29(4):530-535. 10.3803/EnM.2014.29.4.530.

Standardized Thyroid Cancer Mortality in Korea between 1985 and 2010

• Choi YM
• Kim TY
• Jang EK
• Kwon H
• Jeon MJ
• Kim WG
• Shong YK
• Kim WB

• KMID: 2384251
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2014.29.4.530

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The prevalence of thyroid cancer has increased very rapidly in Korea. However, there is no published report focusing on thyroid cancer mortality in Korea. In this study, we aimed to evaluate standardized thyroid cancer mortality using data from Statistics Korea (the Statistical Office of Korea).
METHODS
Population and mortality data from 1985 to 2010 were obtained from Statistics Korea. Age-standardized rates of thyroid cancer mortality were calculated according to the standard population of Korea, as well as World Health Organization (WHO) standard population and International Cancer Survival Standard (ICSS) population weights.
RESULTS
The crude thyroid cancer mortality rate increased from 0.1 to 0.7 per 100,000 between 1985 and 2010. The pattern was the same for both sexes. The age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) for thyroid cancer for Korean resident registration population increased from 0.19 to 0.67 between 1985 and 2000. However, it decreased slightly, from 0.67 to 0.55, between 2000 and 2010. When mortality was adjusted using the WHO standard population and ICSS population weights, the ASMR similarly increased until 2000, and then decreased between 2000 and 2010.
CONCLUSION
Thyroid cancer mortality increased until 2000 in Korea. It started to decrease from 2000.

Keyword

Thyroid neoplasms; Mortality; Standard population

MeSH Terms

Korea
Mortality*
Prevalence
Thyroid Neoplasms*
Weights and Measures
World Health Organization

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Crude and age-standardized thyroid cancer mortality rates in 1985 to 2010 in Korea for both sexes. (A) Crude thyroid cancer mortality rates. (B) Age-standardized (by Korean resident registration population in 2005) thyroid cancer mortality rates. (C) Age-standardized (by the World Health Organization [WHO] population) thyroid cancer mortality rates. (D) Age-standardized (by the International Cancer Survival Standard [ICSS] population) thyroid cancer mortality rates.

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  Fig. 2 Trends in 5-year relative survival rates (%) for thyroid cancer in Korea by the year of diagnosis (1993 to 2011). Five-year relative survival rates are shown for four diagnosis periods: 1993 to 1995, 1996 to 2000, 2001 to 2005, and 2007 to 2011. Adapted from Jung et al. Cancer Res Treat 2014;46:109-23 [4].

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