National cancer screening program for gastric cancer in Korea: Nationwide treatment benefit and cost

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nationwide benefit and cost of the national cancer screening program (NCSP) for gastric cancer treatment. Methods For this nationwide, population‐based study, the Korean National Health Insurance Big Data Base, which included gastric cancer–related treatment information and the costs for all patients with gastric cancer who were 40 years old or older between 2004 and 2013, was restructured. Patients with gastric cancer who participated in the NCSP at least once (the screening group) were compared with those who did not participate in the NCSP (the nonscreening group). Results The screening group (n = 116,775) spent significantly less on medical care expenses than the nonscreening group (n = 74,927) during the 5 years since the initial treatment ( P < .0001). The screening group presented a significantly better prognosis for 5 and 9 years than the nonscreening group ( P < .0001). The screening group revealed a 41% decreased hazard ratio ( P < .0001) for death in comparison with the nonscreening group; the prognostic benefit became more obvious when treatment was started within the first 4 months after screening. The age‐standardized mortality rate ratio of the screening group versus the nonscreening group was 0.62 ( P < .0001). The NCSP for gastric cancer required an average of 22,169,769 Korean Republic won (US $20,309) for 1 life‐year saved, which was less than the average gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Korea. Conclusions The screening group had significantly lower medical care expenses and showed a significantly better prognosis than the nonscreening group. On the basis of the GDP per capita, the NCSP for gastric cancer was cost‐effective for treatment prognosis.