Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39938871›Full record

ArticleJournal of Korean medical science2025

National Expenditures on Anticancer and Immunomodulating Agents During 2013-2022 in Korea.

Jieun Yun, Youngs Chang, Minsol Jo, Yerin Heo, Dong-Sook Kim

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of Korean medical science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Jieun Yun *Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, Cheongju University, Cheongju, Korea.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-4274
Youngs Chang *Department of Preventive Medicine, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4722-6894
Minsol JoDepartment of Health Administration, College of Nursing and Health, Kongju National University, Gongju, Korea.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3948-3499
Yerin HeoDepartment of Health Administration, College of Nursing and Health, Kongju National University, Gongju, Korea.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9472-3080
Dong-Sook KimDepartment of Health Administration, College of Nursing and Health, Kongju National University, Gongju, Korea. sttone@kongju.ac.kr.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2372-1807

Funding

Soonchunhyang University 20241385
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study investigated trends in national expenditures on anticancer and immunomodulating agents from 2013 to 2022.

methodsInformation was obtained from the National Health Insurance claims data spanning a period of 10 years, from 2013 to 2022. The subjects of this study are patients diagnosed with cancer who used anticancer agents between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2022. Trends were examined across various categories, including sex, age groups, routes of healthcare use, and types of healthcare institutions. We calculated the compound annual growth rate in both the number of patients and expenditures by year.

resultsIn 2013, pharmaceutical expenditures amounted to USD 11,984 million, representing 25.5% of the total healthcare expenditures, which were USD 46,984 million. Within this pharmaceutical expenditure, anticancer medications constituted USD 584 million, or 4.9%. By 2022, pharmaceutical expenditures had risen to USD 22,093 million, accounting for 22.8% of the total healthcare expenditures of USD 96,904 million. Of this amount, USD 1,566 million was allocated to anticancer drugs, which represented 7.1% of the total pharmaceutical expenditures. Between 2013 and 2022, total healthcare expenditures experienced a significant increase of 106.2%, reaching USD 49,920 million. Concurrently, pharmaceutical expenditures rose by 91.1% to USD 10,919 million, while expenditures on anticancer drugs surged by 168.2% to USD 982 million. In 2022, the category with the highest expenditures was ATC L01FF, which includes programmed cell death protein 1/death ligand 1 inhibitors such as nivolumab, totaling USD 266.2 million. This was followed by L01FD at USD 198.8 million and L01EA at USD 140.4 million. Since 2018, however, spending on immune checkpoint blockers targeting cell death proteins or ligands has continued to rise and currently ranks first.

conclusionThe number of patients using anticancer drugs and the associated drug expenditures have risen between 2013 and 2022. As the share of anticancer drugs in total drug expenditures grows, so too do the overall expenditures. This escalating financial burden highlights the necessity for policymakers to thoroughly understand the appropriate and cost-effective usage of anticancer drugs, as it directly influences the affordability and accessibility of healthcare services.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsHealth ExpendituresImmunomodulating AgentsNeoplasmsAdolescentAdultAgedChildChild, PreschoolDatabases, FactualFemaleHumansInfantMaleMiddle AgedRepublic of KoreaAntineoplastic AgentsImmunomodulating AgentsAnticancer DrugsKoreaNational Health InsurancePharmaceutical Expenditure

Identifiers

PMID39938871
PMCPMC11810637

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.