title: Rising prostate cancer rates in South Korea.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA. suepark@snu.ac.kr
authors.forename: Sue Kyung
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Lori C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Sakoda
authors.forename: Daehee
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Anand P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Chokkalingam
authors.forename: Eunsik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hai-Rim
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Yoon-Ok
authors.initials: YO
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Myung-Hee
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Choong-Won
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Duk-Hee
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blair
authors.forename: Susan S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Devesa
authors.forename: Ann W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Hsing
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen