Driven by an aging population, the number of patients and medical expense burdens for urological diseases—including prostate cancer and non-tumor urological conditions such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)—have surged dramatically over the past 15 years.

In particular, a persistent concentration of cancer patients seeking care at medical institutions in the metropolitan area has highlighted an urgent need to reorganize regional healthcare delivery systems and establish long-term plans for medical resource allocation, experts point out.

During a press conference at the 78th International Annual Congress of the Korean Urological Association (KUA 2026) held at COEX in Seoul on the 15th, the Korean Urological Association released the findings of an analysis tracking major urological cancers and non-tumor urological diseases over a 15-year period from 2010 to 2024, based on data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA).

According to the analysis, the number of patients treated for the top five domestic urological cancers—prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, renal pelvis cancer, and ureteral cancer—soared by 220.8% (about $3.2$ times), rising from 76,904 patients in 2010 to 246,720 in 2024. Over the same period, National Health Insurance-covered medical expenses skyrocketed by 391%, from 174 billion KRW to 853 billion KRW.

Looking at the treated prevalence rate by cancer type (the number of patients with at least one confirmed health insurance claim related to the condition in a given year), the growth of prostate cancer—the leading cancer among men—was most notable.

Patients treated for prostate cancer jumped from 35,688 in 2010 to 144,066 in 2024, with the crude prevalence rate per 100,000 population increasing at an annual average of 10.1%, from 71.6 to 282.3.

Other major urological cancers also showed significant increases in treated prevalence: bladder cancer grew from 21,184 to 46,664 (an average annual increase of 5.7% in crude prevalence), kidney cancer from 16,126 to 45,678 (7.4% increase), ureteral cancer from 1,793 to 5,510 (8.2% increase), and renal pelvis cancer from 2,113 to 4,802 (6.3% increase).

However, when applying age-standardized rates that adjust for changes in population age structure, the magnitude of the increase narrowed.

The average annual growth rate for prostate cancer dropped from 10.1% in crude prevalence to 5.4% after age-standardization. Similarly, bladder cancer fell from 5.7% to 1.6%, kidney cancer from 7.4% to 5.0%, ureteral cancer from 8.2% to 4.0%, and renal pelvis cancer from 6.3% to 2.5%.

The sharpest growth was observed in the age group of 70 and older, and the average patient age increased across all cancer types, confirming that population aging is a core factor driving the heavier disease burden.

The concentration of medical care in the capital area was also pronounced. Depending on the cancer type, 42% to 49% of all patients received treatment at medical institutions located in Seoul, and when expanding the scope to the entire metropolitan area, that proportion reached 68% to 76%. By medical institution tier, treatment shares expanded across both tertiary general hospitals and primary care clinics.

Furthermore, the covered medical expenses calculated in this analysis (853.0 billion KRW) excluded non-covered items such as robotic surgery, non-covered radiation therapy, and non-covered chemotherapy. Consequently, researchers estimate that the actual economic burden of prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers is even higher than these statistics indicate.

Sharp Surge in Non-Tumor Diseases Like Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Bladder Dysfunction

Alongside cancer, the disease burden of four major non-tumor urological conditions—benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), urinary stones, bladder dysfunction, and urinary tract infections (UTIs)—also increased significantly.

The total number of patients treated for these four conditions grew by 48.0%, rising from 3,161,656 in 2010 to 4,679,999 in 2024. Over the same period, National Health Insurance-covered medical expenses surged by 230.1% (about $3.3$ times) from 274.7 billion KRW to 906.8 billion KRW, far outpacing the growth rate of patient numbers.

By disease, BPH saw the largest absolute increase in patient numbers. BPH patients increased by 106.3% (an annual average of 5.1%) from 767,805 in 2010 to 1,583,627 in 2024, while medical expenses surged by 331.7% from 59.4 billion KRW to 256.6 billion KRW.

Bladder dysfunction showed the fastest growth rate. The number of bladder dysfunction patients surged by 174.4% from 225,732 to 619,314, while medical expenses skyrocketed by 493.1% from 9.7 billion KRW to 57.6 billion KRW, multiplying roughly 6 times.

Urinary tract infections grew by 11.6% from 1,908,367 in 2010 to 2,129,963 in 2024, maintaining the highest patient volume among the four conditions. Although the patient growth rate was relatively low, medical expenses increased by 179.1% from 105.5 billion KRW to 294.4 billion KRW.

Urinary stone patients grew by 33.6% from 259,752 to 347,095, with medical expenses jumping 197.9% from 100.1 billion KRW to 298.2 billion KRW, about a 3-fold increase. Regarding gender tendencies, UTIs were more prevalent among women, while urinary stones occurred more frequently in men.

Dr. Park Sung-yeol, Director of Planning (Professor of Urology at Hanyang University Hospital), diagnosed the situation, stating, "Major urological cancers—centered around prostate cancer—are showing clear growth in treated prevalence, accompanied by concurrent aging, metropolitan medical concentration, and rising medical costs. For non-tumor diseases as well, rapid aging is fueling a massive rise in BPH and a steep increase in bladder dysfunction, amplifying their impact on medical utilization and finances."

He further suggested, "To effectively respond to the future rise in urological patients, we must reflect these long-term trends to establish patient management systems, healthcare workforce plans, regional cancer care policies, and long-term resource allocation frameworks."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]