Colorectal cancer rates in South Korea are the highest in the world.
In a breakthrough that should improve patients' quality of life, local medical professionals are increasingly taking a precision medicine approach to this form of cancer.
Park Se-young has more.
Colorectal cancer starts in either the colon or rectum.
Because it does not show any symptoms in the early stages, colorectal cancer is usually detected in stages 3 or 4.
Surgery can dramatically reduce a patient's quality of life, so doctors are increasingly using precision medicine to personalize treatment.
"Through imaging methods, the precision medicine approach can refine patient selection to omit those who don't need surgery."
Around 20 percent of patients can be treated for colorectal cancer through chemo-radiation therapy.
The spread of precision medicine can be seen in other countries like the U.S. and Britain.
"If you want to call it precision medicine, that is now widely practiced across the world, and I'm very pleased to see that it's also practiced in Korea."
The success rate for treating stage 1 and 2 colorectal cancer is 90 percent.
Because colorectal cancer does not show any symptoms in its early stages, it's important to have regular screenings.
In response to a rise in younger colorectal cancer patients, the American Cancer Society has updated its guidelines and recommended that screening begins at age 45 rather than 50.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.
