Doctors are seen walking on the Seoul National Hospital University compound in Seoul, Dec. 3. Yonhap

The five-year relative survival rate for cancer patients, reflecting their likelihood of living compared with the general population, stood at 72.9 percent, Korea's health ministry said Thursday.

The latest findings from the 2018-2022 period represent a significant increase from 54.2 percent recorded during the 2001–2005 period, suggesting cancer patients tend to live longer, likely due to more people undergoing medical examinations, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The survival rate for thyroid cancer reached 100.1 percent, meaning its patients showed a tendency to live longer than the general population.

Prostate cancer followed with 96.4 percent, trailed by breast cancer at 94.3 percent. The survival rate for lung cancer stood at 40.6 percent, while that for liver cancer was 39.4 percent, the data showed.

The data also showed the country reported 282,047 new cancer patients in 2022, down 0.05 percent from a year earlier.

The report revealed 37.7 percent of Korean males were likely to develop cancer during their lifetime if they lived up to the average life expectancy of 79.9 years.

Similarly, 34.8 percent of females were estimated to face the same risk if they reached their average life expectancy of 85.6 years.

The country had 287 cancer patients per every 100,000 people, below the 367 posted by the United States. It was higher, however, than Japan's 267.1 and China's 201.6. (Yonhap)