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Esophageal Cancer in Korea: Epidemiology and Treatment Patterns

  • Park, Seong Yong (Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Kim, Dae Joon (Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine)
  • Received : 2021.05.04
  • Accepted : 2021.07.16
  • Published : 2021.12.05

Abstract

According to statistics from 2017, esophageal cancer is the fifteenth most common cancer and the eleventh most common cause of cancer-related death in Korea. The most common pathology is esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Moreover, the incidence of esophageal cancer has been gradually decreasing in Korea, and the percentage of early-stage cases has gradually increased to the point that it is higher than that of other countries. The 5-year relative survival rate has improved over time. Approximately 800 esophagectomy procedures are performed annually. Using a cut-off number of 21 cases per 2 years to define high-volume centers, it was found that 70% of esophagectomies were performed by a few high-volume centers. Unfortunately, there is no nationwide registry or database on esophageal cancer and esophagectomy in Korea. Efforts to establish a nationwide database on esophageal cancer and esophagectomy should be made.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Prof. Hyeon Chang Kim (Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine) for reviewing the manuscript and Medical Illustration & Design Team for providing excellent support with medical illustrations.

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