1950년대 이래 선진국 국민들과 한국인의 암 사망 변천사

Abstract

Has cancer become an important cause of tormenting Koreans and people around the world with the development of modern civilization? The authors will delve into this issue through several papers. This paper examines how cancer deaths have changed among people in several developed countries and Koreans from the 1950s to the present day through analysis of representative Korean and international cancer-related statistical data, especially through detailed analysis of age-specific cancer mortality rates. Contrary to conventional idea, the authors were able to confirm that the mortality rate (ASDR) of all cancers except lung cancer from the 1950s to the present day had decreased rather than increased. The increase in cancer ASDR in almost all developed countries in the second half of the 20th century was due to lung cancer. This is true in that except for lung cancer, cancer ASDR has steadily decreased. The large increase in lung cancer was a direct result of the increase in smoking, a phenomenon that had little to do with the development of modern civilization. In Korea, since 1983, when cancer death statistics were compiled, men's cancer ASDR was higher than those of developed countries such as Japan and the United States until recently. As a result of a rapid decline, it has recently shown a value similar to those of advanced countries. The situation is different for women. That is, since the 1980s, the women’s cancer ASDR has been similar to that of Japan, but the decline has more accelerated after 2005. The fact that Korea, which was a latecomer country and lagged behind most advanced countries in terms of medical care, had higher cancer ASDR in men than other advanced countries for 30 years from the 1983 (perhaps since before then) when statistical data were available, raised a fundamental question. “Is cancer more prevalent in developed countries and rare in developing countries?”