Lee Kyeongmin, Suh Mina, Choi Kui Son
Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
National Cancer Control Institute, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
J Prev Med Public Health. 2025 Jul;58(4):337-347. doi: 10.3961/jpmph.25.268. Epub 2025 Jun 21.
Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. To reduce this burden, the Korean government established the National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP) in 1999, initially offering stomach, breast, and cervical cancer screening to Medical Aid Program (MAP) beneficiaries. By 2019, the NCSP had broadened both its eligible population and the range of cancers screened-stomach, liver, cervical, breast, colorectal, and lung-for both MAP recipients and health insurance beneficiaries. Since its inception, participation and adherence to recommended screening have risen steadily, driven by nationwide policy initiatives and expanded access. Over the past 2 decades, the NCSP has played a key role in reducing the incidence of stomach, liver, colorectal, and cervical cancers while increasing detection at precancerous stages, especially for cervical and colorectal cancers. Five-year relative survival rates for major cancers-most notably stomach, colorectal, and breast-have also improved substantially. Accumulated evidence, including cancer detection rates, stage distribution at diagnosis, and mortality reduction, underscores the program's effectiveness in facilitating early detection and reducing cancer-specific deaths. Notably, Korea's mortality-to-incidence ratio for major cancers remains well below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average, illustrating the impact of the nation's comprehensive cancer control strategies. Continued research, surveillance, and refinement of evidence-based screening guidelines will be critical to further enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the NCSP.
癌症是全球发病和死亡的主要原因。为减轻这一负担，韩国政府于1999年设立了国家癌症筛查计划（NCSP），最初向医疗救助计划（MAP）受益人提供胃癌、乳腺癌和宫颈癌筛查。到2019年，NCSP扩大了 eligible population（合格人群）范围以及筛查的癌症种类，包括胃癌、肝癌、宫颈癌、乳腺癌、结直肠癌和肺癌，涵盖了MAP受益人和健康保险受益人。自成立以来，在全国性政策举措和扩大筛查可及性的推动下，参与和坚持推荐筛查的人数稳步上升。在过去20年里，NCSP在降低胃癌、肝癌、结直肠癌和宫颈癌发病率方面发挥了关键作用，同时提高了癌前阶段的检测率，尤其是宫颈癌和结直肠癌。主要癌症（最显著的是胃癌、结直肠癌和乳腺癌）的五年相对生存率也有了大幅提高。包括癌症检测率、诊断时的分期分布和死亡率降低等累积证据，强调了该计划在促进早期检测和减少癌症特异性死亡方面的有效性。值得注意的是，韩国主要癌症的死亡率与发病率之比仍远低于经济合作与发展组织的平均水平，这说明了该国全面癌症控制策略的影响。持续的研究、监测以及对循证筛查指南的完善对于进一步提高NCSP的效率和效果至关重要。
