The Burden of Cancer in Korea during 2012: Findings from a Prevalence-Based Approach

Cancer causes a significant deterioration in health and premature death and is a national socioeconomic burden. This study aimed to measure the burden of cancer using the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) metric based on the newly adopted methodology from the Global Burden of Disease Study in 2010. This study was conducted based on data from the Korean National Cancer Registry. The DALYs were calculated using a prevalence-based method instead of the incidence-based method used by previous studies. The total burden of cancer in 2012 was 3,470.79 DALYs per 100,000 persons. Lung cancer was the most prevalent cancer burden, followed by liver, stomach, colorectal, and breast cancer. The DALYs for lung, liver, stomach, colon and rectum, and pancreatic cancer were high in men, whereas the DALYs for breast, lung, stomach, colorectal, and liver cancer were high in women. Health loss from leukemia and cancer of the brain and nervous system was prevalent for those younger than age 20; from stomach, breast, and liver for those aged 30–50; and from lung, colon and rectum, and pancreas for a large proportion of individuals over the age of 60. The most important differences were that the DALYs were calculated by prevalence and that other components of the DALYs were measured by a population-based perspective. Thus, prevalence-based DALYs could provide more suitable data for decision making in the healthcare field.