Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Analyzes Leading Cause of Cancer Death, Lung Cancer... "Immuno-oncology Claims Surge Fourfold"

Marked Increase in Lung Cancer Among Older Women

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance announced on the 4th that an analysis of lung cancer-related medical service utilization among its policyholders, using its in-house "Integrated Health Information Platform (hereinafter referred to as the Health DB)," showed a sharp increase in cases where insurance benefits were paid for immuno-oncology treatment.

This analysis is the third cancer-related study following breast cancer and prostate cancer, and was conducted based on data accumulated over 10 years since 2015.

According to the recently released National Cancer Registry statistics, lung cancer ranks as the second most common cancer, and since 2015 it has consistently been identified in national cancer statistics as the leading cause of cancer-related death.

The mortality risk was found to be particularly high among men. An analysis of 5-year mortality among patients diagnosed with cancer between 2015 and 2020 showed that the rate for men was 53.0%, far exceeding the overall average for both genders (44.3%), and about 1.8 times higher than the rate for women (29.6%).

The incidence of lung cancer among older women has also increased noticeably. Based on the number of policyholders in the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Health DB who received insurance benefits, the number of female lung cancer patients aged 60 or older rose from 211 in 2020 to 414 in 2024, nearly doubling in four years.

The Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Health DB also confirmed improvements in survival. The mortality rate among lung cancer patients fell from 51.4% in 2015 to 41.3% in 2020, a decrease of about 10 percentage points, and a similar trend has been observed in the recently published National Cancer Registry statistics on lung cancer survival rates.

Experts point to the expansion of targeted therapy and immuno-oncology treatment as the main drivers of this improved survival. Multiple studies have confirmed that the introduction of cutting-edge medical technologies, such as immuno-oncology drugs, has contributed to higher survival rates and lower post-surgical recurrence rates among lung cancer patients.

The Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Health DB likewise showed that advances in medical technology, including the introduction of targeted anticancer drugs and immuno-oncology drugs, are rapidly transforming the treatment environment. The number of cases in which insurance benefits were paid for immuno-oncology treatment increased from 20 in 2020 to 77 in 2024, nearly a fourfold rise, and the number of genetic tests conducted to identify anticancer drugs suitable for each patient also grew 1.6 times over the same period, from 102 to 165.

The Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Long-term Future Value Research Institute stated, "The data analysis shows that lung cancer remains a serious threat, but we were able to confirm that advanced targeted and immuno-oncology treatments are being actively used in clinical practice, supported by expanded precision testing." It added, "By analyzing and releasing information on medical technologies that are actually being used in the field, we aim to contribute to the development of healthcare policy and medical technology."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.