Cancer Patients in South Korea Achieve a 72.9% Five-Year Survival Rate: New Report

Seoul, Dec 26 (NationPress) The five-year relative survival rate for cancer patients, which indicates their chances of survival compared to the general population, is now 72.9%, according to a report released by South Korea's health ministry on Thursday.

The most recent data covering the period from 2018 to 2022 shows a notable increase from 54.2%, which was recorded during the 2001–2005 timeframe. This improvement suggests that cancer patients are experiencing longer lifespans, likely due to an increase in the number of individuals undergoing medical check-ups, as per the Ministry of Health and Welfare, reported by Yonhap news agency.

Notably, the survival rate for thyroid cancer has reached an exceptional 100.1%, indicating that patients with this type of cancer tend to outlive the general population.

Prostate cancer follows with a survival rate of 96.4%, and breast cancer is at 94.3%. In contrast, the survival rates for lung cancer and liver cancer are significantly lower, standing at 40.6% and 39.4%, respectively, according to the data.

The statistics also reveal that South Korea recorded 282,047 new cancer cases in 2022, representing a slight decrease of 0.05% from the previous year.

The report indicates that 37.7% of South Korean men are likely to develop cancer over their lifetime if they live to the average life expectancy of 79.9 years.

Similarly, the risk for women is estimated at 34.8% if they reach their average life expectancy of 85.6 years.

South Korea has 287 cancer patients per 100,000 people, which is lower than the 367 reported in the United States but higher than Japan's 267.1 and China's 201.6.

Additionally, data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) in September this year indicated a significant decline in cancer surgeries during the first five months following a junior doctors' strike that began in February.