Estimating Economic Burden of Cancer in South Korea in 2015 to 2019

To determine the socioeconomic burden of cancer in South Korea during the period 2015 to 2019, with specific attention to variations across sex, age groups, and cancer types.

Using real-world data on the entire population of cancer patients (ICD-10 codes C00-C97) from 2015 to 2019, this study estimated the socioeconomic burden of cancer. Direct medical costs encompassing expenses for treatment, hospitalizations, and outpatient visits were calculated suing the cost-of-illness approach, whereas direct nonmedical costs (transportation, caregiver expenses) were estimated based on healthcare utilization frequency. The Human Capital Approach was used to estimate indirect costs, specifically quantifying productivity losses due to both absenteeism and premature mortality using national census income and employment data. All costs are presented in US$2020 values to ensure temporal comparability.

In 2015, the total socioeconomic cost amounted to US$15.6 billion, and it increased to US$23.8 billion in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 11.2%. The cancer types with the highest total socioeconomic costs were, in order: lung (US$3.8 billion), liver (US$3.1 billion), colon and rectum (US$2.6 billion), stomach (US$2.4 billion), and breast (US$1.8 billion).

To ensure the efficient allocation of limited healthcare resources, there is an increasing need to develop robust evidence and data to inform cancer-related health policy.