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KMID : 0857920150180020073
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Yonsei Journal of Medical History
2015 Volume.18 No. 2 p.73 ~ p.103
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A Historical Review of Statistical Studies on Cancer Incidence in Korea
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Lee Kook
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Abstract
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Statistical studies on cancer in Korea were historically reviewed based on the literature available from the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) until the start of the national cancer registry (1980). A total of 15 papers reported on the cancer incidence statistics of Koreans: four during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945), only one during the liberation, the Korean War, and the post-war reconstruction period (1945-1958), eight from the establishment of the Korean Cancer Research Association (KCRA) until its reorganization as the Korean Cancer Association (KCA) (1958-1973), and thereafter, two to the start of the national cancer registry (1973-1980). During the Japanese colonial period, Dr. Ludlow, Dr. Choy, and Dr. Lee et al. from the Severance Union Medical College carried out statistical studies on cancer for the purpose of obtaining clues to its causes and of developing preventive measures for Korean people under impoverished conditions. Research activities resumed after the Korean War with the establishment of the KCRA in 1958. The Journal of the KCRA and the Korean Journal of Pathology were founded in 1966 and 1967, respectively. The KCRA was reorganized as the KCA in 1973. During the period of 1925-1939 and the period of 1959-1973, breast cancer and specific infection- related cancers such as gastric, hepatic, and cervix uterine cancer remained the leading primary cancers. But in the period 1959-1973, skin and penile cancers decreased in frequency, whereas colorectal, upper respiratory tract and lung cancers increased. This finding might be associated with changes in the medical environment, for example, an increase in the number of cancer-specific clinics, the usage of CT as a diagnostic tool, and housing and working environments and life- styles as a result of economic development from 1960 to the 1970s. In 1980, the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare started a nationwide hospital-based cancer registry and published the annual report of the national cancer registry. In 1999, the national cancer registry expanded cancer registration to cover the entire population in collaboration with the population-based regional cancer registry for national cancer incidence statistics. The cancer statistical studies from the university hospitals in Korea provided not only reference data for estimating cancer incidence among Koreans but also useful data for comprehending the etiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer. They also made a valuable contribution to the start and establishment of the national cancer registry.
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KEYWORD
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Cancer statistical studies, Incidence, Cancer(Malignant neoplasm), National cancer registry, Korea
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