Proposal for improving the outcomes of cancer treatment

Article information

J Korean Med Assoc. 2017;60(3):219-222

Publication date (electronic) : 2017 March 23

doi : https://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2017.60.3.219

Hyung Jin Kim, MD

Department of Surgery, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea.

Corresponding author: Hyung Jin Kim. hj@catholic.ac.kr

Received 2017 January 05; Accepted 2017 January 20.

Abstract

Cancer is the most common cause of death in Korea. Nationwide cancer statistics, the early detection of cancer, and quality control and feedback regarding cancer treatment are very important for improving the outcomes of cancer patients. In Korea, a national cancer center analyzes cancer statistics and reports them annually. A national cancer screening program for the early detection of 5 major types of cancer has been implemented, as well as an assessment analysis of cancer treatments in each hospital. To further improve the outcomes of cancer treatment, national-level support, the continuous evidence-based modification of policies, support for the families of cancer patients, and mounting a publicity campaign for cancer prevention and screening are needed.

Keywords: Neoplasms; Public policy

References

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Article information Continued

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Figure 1

Trends in age-standardized incidences of selected cancers by sex from 1999 to 2013 in Korea. (A) Men and (B) women. Age standardization was based on the Segi's world standard population. Reproduced from Oh CM et al. Cancer Res Treat 2016;48:436-450, according to the Creative Commons license [1].

Table 1

Korean national cancer screening program

HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen; HCV, hepatitis C virus; US, ultrasonography; AFP, alpha-fetoprotein; Pap, Papanicolaou.