Five-year survival by cancer type in Korea, from the national cancer registry

Here are the 5-year relative survival rates for people diagnosed in Korea between 2019 and 2023, broken out by cancer type. These are nationwide figures, not the results of any one hospital.

Start with the numbers

For all cancers combined, the 5-year relative survival rate is 73.7%. By type: thyroid cancer 100.2%, prostate cancer 96.9%, breast cancer 94.7%, stomach cancer 78.6%, colorectal cancer 75.6%, leukemia 55.7%, lung cancer 42.5%, liver cancer 40.4% (Korea Central Cancer Registry national cancer registration statistics, 2019–2023, National Cancer Center Korea). A figure above 100% for thyroid cancer means survival is no different from that of the general population of the same age.

Set side by side with US figures

In the US National Cancer Institute's SEER data (2016–2022), the rates are 39.8% for stomach cancer, 65.4% for colorectal cancer, 29.5% for lung and bronchus cancer, 21.9% for liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer, 91.9% for breast cancer, 98.2% for prostate cancer, 98.3% for thyroid cancer and 68.6% for leukemia. The gaps in stomach and liver cancer are wide, while the US is higher for prostate cancer and leukemia. The two countries differ in when cancers are diagnosed and in who the patients are, so a straight comparison is difficult.

What to keep in mind when reading these numbers

• Survival rates are averages across a population, not a prediction of any one person's outcome. An individual's outcome varies widely with stage, histology, age and coexisting conditions.
• Behind Korea's stomach and colorectal figures is a high proportion of cancers caught early through the national screening program. The difference is not treatment technique alone.
• For leukemia, the mix of acute and chronic disease and the age at diagnosis differ from country to country, so the two figures cannot be put side by side directly.

Sources and notes

Korea Central Cancer Registry, National Cancer Center Korea, national cancer registration statistics (2019–2023 diagnosis cohort, cancer.go.kr) · US National Cancer Institute, SEER Cancer Stat Facts (2016–2022, seer.cancer.gov). You can verify each figure in the statistics tables on the page for each cancer type. This article provides general medical information. Diagnosis, treatment and outcomes vary with each person's condition; decisions should always be made in consultation with a physician.