Yoo Keun-Young
National Cancer Center, 111 Jungbalsan-ro, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 410-769, Republic of Korea.
Jpn J Clin Oncol. 2008 May;38(5):327-33. doi: 10.1093/jjco/hyn026. Epub 2008 Apr 11.
South Korea has a population of 47.3 million. The whole population is covered by a mandatory social insurance system (the National Health Insurance Program) that is financed through the contributions paid by the insured and their employers. Cancer has been the leading cause of death in Korea since 1983. About 130 000 people develop cancer annually with 66 000 deaths in 2006. Cancer patients' 5-year survival rates between 1998 and 2002 were 37.8 and 57.0% for men and women, respectively. The five leading primary cancer sites were stomach, lung, liver, colon and rectum, and bladder among males, whereas the most common cancers were stomach, breast, colon and rectum, uterine cervix and lung among females. With the rapidly aging population, reducing cancer burden at the national level has become one of the major political issues in Korea. The government formulated its first 10-year plan for cancer control in 1996. In 2000, the National Cancer Center was created and the Cancer Control Division was set up within the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The Cancer Control Act was legislated in 2003. Korea's major national cancer control programs are anti-smoking campaigns, hepatitis B virus vaccination, cancer registration and networking, promotion of R&D activities for cancer control, education and training for cancer control and prevention, operation of the national cancer information center, operation of the mass screening program for five common cancers, management of cancer patients at home, financial support for cancer patients and designation of regional cancer centers.
韩国有4730万人口。全体人口都纳入了强制性社会保险体系（国民健康保险计划），该计划通过被保险人及其雇主缴纳的费用来提供资金。自1983年以来，癌症一直是韩国的主要死因。每年约有13万人患癌症，2006年有6.6万人死亡。1998年至2002年期间，男性和女性癌症患者的5年生存率分别为37.8%和57.0%。男性中五个主要的原发癌部位是胃、肺、肝、结肠和直肠以及膀胱，而女性中最常见的癌症是胃、乳腺、结肠和直肠、子宫颈和肺。随着人口迅速老龄化，在国家层面减轻癌症负担已成为韩国的主要政治问题之一。政府在1996年制定了首个为期10年的癌症控制计划。2000年，成立了国家癌症中心，并在卫生和福利部内设立了癌症控制司。2003年通过了《癌症控制法》。韩国主要的国家癌症控制项目包括反吸烟运动、乙肝病毒疫苗接种、癌症登记与联网、促进癌症控制的研发活动、癌症控制与预防的教育和培训、国家癌症信息中心的运营、五种常见癌症的大规模筛查项目的运营、癌症患者的居家管理、对癌症患者的财政支持以及指定区域癌症中心。
