Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether stage at cancer diagnosis differed according to patient economic status.

Methods: A total of 10,528 patients with cancer of the stomach, colorectum, breast, or cervix, which are target organs of the Korean National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP; fully implemented in 2005) were extracted from population-based cancer registries. The patients were classified into four groups based on socioeconomic status (SES), as determined using their National Health Insurance (NHI) monthly premium at the time of cancer diagnosis. Cancer stage at diagnosis was defined as early (in situ/local) or late stage (regional/distant) based on the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) summary stage. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the risk of non-local stage using age, residential area, and community deprivation index as covariates.

Results: The lowest SES subjects showed significantly higher risks of being diagnosed at a later stage for stomach, colorectal, and female breast cancer, but not for cervical cancer, compared with the highest SES subjects. The estimated ORs were 1.28 (95% CI, 1.10–1.49), 1.29 (95% CI, 1.03–1.61), and 1.35 (95% CI, 1.02–1.81) in the lowest SES subjects with stomach, colorectal, and breast cancer, respectively.

Conclusions: In conclusion, later stage diagnoses of stomach, colon, and female breast cancer are still associated with SES in Korea in the era of the NCSP for the lower SES population.