Breast cancer, the most common cancer among Korean women, occurs frequently in women in their 40s, and the medical cost burden is also expanding, according to a new analysis. As targeted and immunotherapy treatments spread, the burden of non-reimbursable medical expenses is rising, highlighting the importance of early screening.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (000810.KS) said Wednesday that it analyzed breast cancer treatment cases and treatment costs using its Integrated Health Information Platform (Health DB). According to the National Cancer Registration Statistics, breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer among women in Korea. The incidence rate also rose by an annual average of 5.9% from 2020 to 2023. According to the Health DB, the number of Samsung Fire customers who received indemnity insurance payouts for breast cancer surpassed 10,000 for the first time last year.
Breast cancer mainly occurs during the economically active years between the ages of 30 and 50. In Korea in particular, the incidence among women in their 40s is high. While survival rates are relatively high, career disruptions caused by long-term treatment, the burden of medical expenses, and difficulties in managing recurrence are affecting patients' lives, the company explained.
The medical cost burden on breast cancer patients is indeed on the rise. According to the National Health Insurance Statistical Yearbook, annual medical expenses per breast cancer patient increased by approximately 6.4% from 5.03 million won in 2021 to 5.35 million won in 2024. However, this figure is based on national health insurance coverage and does not include non-reimbursable costs.
Breast cancer treatment carries a relatively heavy non-covered cost burden. According to the National Health Insurance Service's "2024 Survey on Medical Expenses of Health Insurance Patients," the non-covered out-of-pocket rate per breast cancer patient stood at 24.1%. This was higher than the non-covered out-of-pocket rate of 8.8% for the top 30 severe and high-cost diseases.
Due to the high reliance on non-covered treatments, indemnity insurance payouts are also on the rise. According to Samsung Fire's Health DB analysis, breast cancer-related indemnity insurance payouts increased by approximately 20.4% from 3.72 million won in 2021 to 4.48 million won last year.
Samsung Fire also analyzed high-cost treatment cases. Among customers diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 and 2022, cases where direct treatment costs exceeded 50 million won accounted for approximately 1.2% of the total. All of these patients had received targeted or immunotherapy treatment.
The number of patients receiving targeted and immunotherapy treatments for breast cancer has been rising over the past five years. Their share of all breast cancer chemotherapy customers reached 56.2% as of last year, up about 20 percentage points from 2021. In cases where patients took oral targeted anticancer drugs for extended periods to prevent recurrence, treatment costs reached as high as 100 million won.
Samsung Fire explained that for breast cancer, early screening is important not only in terms of treatment outcomes but also in managing the economic burden. According to the National Cancer Registration Statistics, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer exceeds 90% when detected early. In addition, when treatment was completed within one year, average medical expenses stood at 7.51 million won, but when the treatment period exceeded one year, average medical expenses surged to 23.8 million won.
