Rising prostate cancer rates in South Korea.
BACKGROUND
Prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates in South Korea are relatively low, but rising steadily.


METHODS
We examined age-standardized incidence and mortality trends of prostate cancer in South Korea to gain further insight into prostate cancer etiology.


RESULTS
Although prostate cancer incidence has been low (7.9 per 100,000 man-years), it has increased up to 28.2% between 1996-1998 and 1999-2001. Prostate cancer mortality increased 12.7-fold over a 20-year period. Despite the increase in prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates, marked differences in rates remain for Koreans, Korean Americans, and Caucasian Americans.


CONCLUSIONS
The rising rates of prostate cancer in South Korea cannot be attributed entirely to PSA screening due to the low PSA screening prevalence; this trend is most likely related to increased westernization among Koreans. Interdisciplinary epidemiological studies incorporating the collection of biological samples are needed to clarify the extent to which lifestyle and genetic factors contribute to the observed racial disparity.
Park
Sue Kyung
SK
Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA. suepark@snu.ac.kr
Sakoda
Lori C
LC
Kang
Daehee
D
Chokkalingam
Anand P
AP
Lee
Eunsik
E
Shin
Hai-Rim
HR
Ahn
Yoon-Ok
YO
Shin
Myung-Hee
MH
Lee
Choong-Won
CW
Lee
Duk-Hee
DH
Blair
Aaron
A
Devesa
Susan S
SS
Hsing
Ann W
AW
D017677:Age Distribution; D001213:Asian; D044466:Asian People; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality*; D044465:White People
D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen