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. 2022 Oct;38(5):343-352.
doi: 10.3393/ac.2022.00535.0076. Epub 2022 Oct 28.

Colorectal cancer mortality trends in the era of cancer survivorship in Korea: 2000-2020

Min Hyun Kim  1 , Sanghee Park  2 , Nari Yi  2 , Bobae Kang  2 , In Ja Park  1
Affiliations

Colorectal cancer mortality trends in the era of cancer survivorship in Korea: 2000-2020

Min Hyun Kim et al. Ann Coloproctol. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: Korea has implemented an early screening for colorectal cancer since 2004. However, it is not known whether this has translated into improved survival over the years.

Methods: We acquired colorectal cancer mortality data from the Cause of Death Statistics in Korea from 2000 to 2020. We characterized the data into year of death, cancer-specific loci, and age group. We analyzed age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) according to year of death, age group, and primary location to find trends in colorectal cancer mortality over a 20-year period.

Results: The crude mortality rate of colorectal cancer increased from 8.78 per 100,000 in 2000 to 17.27 per 100,000 in 2020. The second decade was slower in increments compared to the first decade. ASMR showed a decrease over the second decade after an initial increase in the first decade. The decrease was primarily from the lowering of ASMR for rectosigmoid cancers. Age group analysis showed a lowering of ASMR mainly in the 45-59-year, 60-74-year, and ≥ 75-year age groups; however, 0-29-year and 30-44-year age groups showed generally unchanged ASMR over the total period.

Conclusion: After a brief incline of age-specific mortality of colorectal cancers during the early 2000s, colorectal cancer mortality has gradually been decreasing in the past decade. This was mainly due to decreased mortalities in rectosigmoid colon cancers especially in the age groups that were the target of early screening.

Keywords: Cancer survivors; Colorectal neoplasms; Mortality.

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Conflict of interest statement

In Ja Park is the current editor-in-chief of Annals of Coloproctology; however, she did not interfere with the reviewing or decision process of this manuscript. No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Cumulative chart of total mortalities per primary loci and crude mortality rate and age-specific mortality rate for overall colorectal cancers.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
(A) Crude mortality rate per primary loci. (B) Age-standardized mortality rate per primary loci.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Total mortalities and age-standardized mortality rates for males and females for (A) overall colorectal cancer, (B) right-sided colon cancer, (C) left-sided colon cancer, and (D) rectosigmoid colon cancer.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Crude mortality rate and age-standardized mortality rate for each age group. (A, C, E, G) Crude mortality rate for each age group for (A) overall colorectal cancer, (C) right-sided colon cancer, (E) left-sided colon cancer, and (G) rectosigmoid colon cancer. (B, D, F, H) Age-standardized mortality rate for each age group for (B) overall colorectal cancer, (D) right-sided colon cancer, (F) left-sided colon cancer, and (H) rectosigmoid colon cancer.
None
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