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Review
. 2023 Jun;26(3):207-220.
doi: 10.4048/jbc.2023.26.e27.

Breast Cancer Statistics in Korea, 2019

Jung Eun Choi  1 , Zisun Kim  2 , Chan Sub Park  3 , Eun Hwa Park  4 , Sae Byul Lee  5 , Se Kyung Lee  6 , Young Jin Choi  7 , Jaihong Han  8 , Kyu-Won Jung  9 , Hee Jeong Kim  10 , Hyun-Ah Kim  11 ; Korean Breast Cancer Society
Affiliations
Review

Breast Cancer Statistics in Korea, 2019

Jung Eun Choi et al. J Breast Cancer. 2023 Jun.

Abstract

This article provides an annual update of Korean breast cancer statistics, including the incidence, tumor stage, type of surgical treatment, and mortality. The data was collected from the Korean Breast Cancer Society registry system and Korean Central Cancer Registry. In 2019, 29,729 women were newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer has continued to increase in incidence since 2002 and been the most common cancer in Korean women since 2019. Of the newly diagnosed cases in 2019, 24,820 (83.5%) were of invasive carcinomas, and 4,909 (16.5%) were of carcinoma in situ. The median age of women with breast cancer was 52.8 years, and breast cancer was most commonly diagnosed in the age group of 40-49 years. The number of patients who have undergone breast conserving surgery has continued to increase since 2016, with 68.6% of patients undergoing breast conserving surgery in 2019. The incidence of early-stage breast cancer continues to increase, with stage 0 or I breast cancer accounting for 61.6% of cases. The most common subtype of breast cancer is the hormone receptor-positive human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative subtype (63.1%). The 5-year relative survival rate of patients with breast cancer from 2015 to 2019 was 93.6%, with an increase of 14.3% compared to that from 1993 to 1995. This report improves our understanding of breast cancer characteristics in South Korea.

Keywords: Breast Neoplasms; Epidemiology; Incidence; Registries; Republic of Korea.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Number of newly diagnosed women with breast cancer, Korea.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Trends in the crude rate of breast cancer in women from 2000 to 2019, Korea.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Trends in the median age of women with breast cancer, Korea.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Trends in the age distribution pattern of women with breast cancer from 2000 to 2019, Korea.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Changes in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
ER = estrogen receptor; PR = progesterone receptor.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Changes in the stage distribution of breast cancer.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Changes in the surgical management of breast cancer.
BCS = breast conserving surgery.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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