The number of cancer deaths surged as people moved from their 30s to 40s. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, May 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Cancer deaths have increased by 72 percent in the past decade, with lung cancer being most commonly diagnosed, followed by liver, stomach, pancreas, colon and breast cancer.
According to the Korea Insurance Development Institute on Wednesday, the number of life insurance subscribers who died of cancer increased from 18,144 in 2008 to 19,560 in 2010, 21,179 in 2012, 23,213 in 2015 and 24,940 in 2017.
As of 2017, lung cancer was responsible for 5,138 deaths, followed by 4,027 cases of liver cancer, 2,384 cases of stomach cancer, 2,054 cases of pancreatic cancer, 1,314 cases of colon cancer and 1,260 cases of breast cancer.
Of the 14,668 deaths caused by cancer for male patients, the number one cause was lung cancer with 3,682 deaths, followed by liver cancer (3,042), stomach cancer (1,501), pancreatic cancer (1,051), colon cancer (671), rectal cancer (454), and esophageal cancer (424).
Of the 10,272 deaths caused by cancer for female patients, the number one cause was lung cancer with 1,457 cases followed by breast cancer (1,254), pancreatic cancer (1,003), liver cancer (985), stomach cancer (884), colon cancer (643), and ovarian cancer (540).
Both men and women in their 50s to 70s were most vulnerable to cancer. On a cumulative basis between 2015 and 2017, men in their 60s and women in their 50s were diagnosed with cancer the most.
Cancer deaths among men in their 60s were mainly due to lung cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer and colon cancer, while among women in their 50s, breast cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer and pancreatic cancer were most common.
The number of cancer deaths surged as people moved from their 30s to 40s.
Men in their 40s suffered from liver cancer, stomach cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, and women in their 40s suffered from breast cancer, stomach cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer and colon cancer.
The 10 major causes of death, as of 2017, including cancer were lung cancer and liver cancer, with pneumonia in third place, cardiac arrest in fourth place, self-harm in fifth place, stomach cancer in sixth place, acute myocardial infarction in seventh place.
Among male deaths, the number of suicides is on the rise, from eighth place in 2015 to seventh place in 2016 and fifth place in 2017.
The top 10 causes of death among women were pneumonia, lung cancer, cardiac arrest, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, and septicemia as of 2017.
Breast cancer ranked fourth among cause of death between 2015 and 2017. Between 2015 and 2017, the 10th-largest female cause of death was aging.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
