Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr;53(2):330-338.
doi: 10.4143/crt.2020.263. Epub 2020 Oct 20.

Trends in Cancer Screening Rates among Korean Men and Women: Results of the Korean National Cancer Screening Survey, 2004-2018

Seri Hong  1 , Yun Yeong Lee  1 , Jaeho Lee  1 , Yeol Kim  1 , Kui Son Choi  1 , Jae Kwan Jun  1 , Mina Suh  1
Affiliations

Trends in Cancer Screening Rates among Korean Men and Women: Results of the Korean National Cancer Screening Survey, 2004-2018

Seri Hong et al. Cancer Res Treat. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: The Korean National Cancer Screening Survey (KNCSS) is a nationwide annual cross-sectional survey conducted for the past 15 years. This study aimed to report trends in the overall screening rates of both organized and opportunistic cancer screening programs from 2004-2018.

Materials and methods: KNCSS data were collected using a structured questionnaire. For five major cancers (i.e., stomach, liver, colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer), we evaluated both the lifetime screening rate and the screening rate with recommendations. The study population included men aged 40-74 years and women aged 20-74 years with no cancer histories.

Results: Screening rate with recommendations increased from 2004 annually by 4.4% and 1.5% until 2013 for stomach and liver cancers, respectively, by 4.0% until 2012 for breast cancer, and by 3.6% and 1.2% until 2014 for colorectal and cervical cancers, respectively, followed by nonsignificant trends thereafter. In 2018, screening rates with recommendations for these cancers were 72.8%, 26.2%, 63.1%, 58.4%, and 55.6%, respectively.

Conclusion: Screening rates for the five types of cancer demonstrated a marked increase between 2004 and 2018. However, many recent screening rates have been flattened with nonsignificant trends, and there are lower rates for cervical cancer screening among young age groups. Steady efforts are needed to achieve higher screening participation rates overall, especially for the cervical cancer screening of young women in their 20s.

Keywords: Breast neoplasms; Colorectal neoplasms; Early detection of cancer; Healthcare surveys; Liver neoplasms; Stomach neoplasms; Trends.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest relevant to this article was not reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Trends in cancer screening rates with recommendation by sex, from 2004–2018. (A) Stomach cancer. (B) Colorectal cancer.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Trends in cancer screening rates with recommendation by age group, from 2004–2018. (A) Stomach cancer. (B) Colorectal cancer. (C) Breast cancer. (D) Cervix uteri cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jung KW, Won YJ, Kong HJ, Lee ES. Cancer statistics in Korea: incidence, mortality, survival, and prevalence in 2016. Cancer Res Treat. 2019;51:417–30. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee KS, Chang HS, Lee SM, Park EC. Economic burden of cancer in Korea during 2000–2010. Cancer Res Treat. 2015;47:387–98. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Suh M, Choi KS, Park B, Lee YY, Jun JK, Lee DH, et al. Trends in cancer screening rates among Korean men and women: results of the Korean National Cancer Screening Survey, 2004–2013. Cancer Res Treat. 2016;48:1–10. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Suh M, Choi KS, Lee YY, Park B, Jun JK. Cancer screening in Korea, 2012: results from the Korean National Cancer Screening Survey. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2013;14:6459–63. - PubMed
    1. Surveillance Research Program Joinpoint trend analysis software, version 4801 [Internet] Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2020. [cited 2020 May 14]. Available from: https://surveillance.cancer.gov/joinpoint/

Publication types