Bladder Cancer in South Korea: Analysis of Trends and Risk Factors of Bladder Cancer in South Korea Using a Nationwide Database

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence rate and trend of bladder cancer in South Korea using a nationwide database. In addition, we aimed to determine the risk factors and their influence on the incidence of bladder cancer.Materials and Methods: We extracted data from the health insurance database and estimated the incidence rate of newly developed bladder cancer from 2007 to 2019. In addition, we conducted further analysis of 10,210,654 individuals who underwent general health check-ups in 2009 to investigate the risk factors for bladder cancer. Variables associated with bladder cancer were evaluated using Cox regression analysis.Results: Bladder cancer significantly increased especially in the last 10 years. In 2019, 21.07 people per 100,000 were diagnosed with bladder cancer, whereas 13.62 people per 100,000 were diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2007. The compound annual increase rate from 2007 to 2019 was 3.7%. Among 10,210,654 individuals who had general health check-ups in 2009, bladder cancer was diagnosed in 83 people per 100,000 population in the 10-year follow-up. After adjusting for other variables, smoking-related variables were most significantly associated with bladder cancer incidence, followed by metabolic syndrome and its related variables. In the further analysis of the effect of smoking on bladder cancer according to sex, the smoking amount was more significantly associated with bladder cancer incidence in women compared to that in men.Conclusions: The crude incidence of bladder cancer continuously increased in South Korea during the last 10 years. Smoking, in addition to sex, age, and metabolic syndrome-related variables, was significantly associated with bladder cancer, especially in women.