For the first time, one of the new immunotherapy drugs has shown promise against breast cancer in a large study that combined it with chemotherapy to treat an aggressive form of the disease. But the benefit for most women was small, raising questions about whether the treatment is worth its high cost and side effects. Results were discussed Saturday at a cancer conference in Munich and published...

The overall number of hospital beds and medical equipment in South Korea exceeded other major economies, while the number of doctors was lowest, data has showed. South Korea had an average of 12 beds per every 1,000 people in 2016, compared with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average of 4.7, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Nat...

Lowering into a lunge, stretch your left arm up. Close your eyes and concentrate on the balance. Then, with your right arm, grab a beer and take a sip, perfecting the “sun salutation” pose It has been a while since “beer yoga” arrived in Korea, after being embraced by Berlin hipsters. After the class, the group gathered in a large circle, again with a bottle of beer in their hands -- but this t...

Cancer remained the leading cause of death in South Korea in 2017, with heart-related illnesses second, government data showed. A total of 285,534 South Koreans died in 2017, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea. Of all deaths reported last year, 78,863 people died of cancer, or 27.6 percent of the total, making it the leading cause of death in Asia’s f...

Cancer will kill nearly 10 million people this year, experts said Wednesday, warning the disease's global burden continues to rise in spite of better prevention and earlier diagnosis. An estimated 18.1 million new cancer cases were predicted worldwide for 2018 -- with 9.6 million deaths, said a report of the International Agency for Research on Cancer. This is up from estimated 14.1 million new...

The number of South Koreans treated for depression last year rose 15.8 percent from five years before, government data showed. Some 681,000 patients were treated for depression last year, up from 588,000 tallied in 2012, according to the data compiled by the National Health Insurance Service. While the number for women grew 12.1 percent from 406,000 to 455,000, the comparable figure for men ...

Oriental medicine expert introduces what summer food to eat and avoid according to body type

The health ministry is pushing to enlarge the size of graphic warning images on cigarette packs, officials said Sunday, a move aimed at discouraging people from smoking. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it plans to announce the measure in September or October to send a stronger message to smokers by expanding the size of the warning images from the current 50 percent of the package's exte...

'Blood types important in blood transfusion but exact role of antigens remain scientifically unproved with no proof of correlation with diseases’

Sales of cigarettes in Korea declined 1.6 percent in the first six months of the year compared to a year earlier, due to a government-led anti-smoking campaign and higher prices, data showed. Korean smokers purchased 1.68 billion 20-cigarette packs in the first half of the year, compared with the previous year’s 1.71 billion packs, according to data compiled by the Finance Ministry. Starting...

Eve Cup, the third menstrual cup to gain the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s approval for sales in Korea, was heatedly received on Monday when it launched on social crowdfunding platform Tumblbug. The only campaign to begin at half past noon on the day, the launch of Eve Cup crashed the Tumblbug site due to excessive traffic. Once back online, Eve Cup reached its target of 10 million won ($8,...

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has issued a safety warning over the use of mini electric fans, a popular item in Korea during summer. “People often overlook safety when using portable fans that are small and convenient,” a senior official at the Safety Ministry said in a statement Friday, urging people to be careful. Between 2015 and 2018, a total of 40 accidents involving mini fans we...

A baby girl who was born after just 24 weeks gestation, weighing 302 grams, was released from the hospital Thursday after spending nearly five months in the neonatal intensive care unit, Asan Medical Center said. During the course of treatment, the baby’s weight reportedly dipped below 295 grams -- barely more than a 250 ml can of soda -- but has since increased to a healthy weight of 3 kilogram...

Over time, coffee has become a universal, and quick, antidote to morning sleepiness. In Korea, roughly 265 million cups of coffee, or some 500 cups per person, were consumed in 2017, according to Korea Customs Service. While coffee may be an effective solution to jolt a person awake, health experts say it may not be the best drink to go for the first thing in the morning. In the first one to tw...

82 clinical trial deaths reported over five-year period