The Korean Academy of Supportive Care in Cancer (KASCC), a research society under the Korean Society of Medical Oncology (KSMO), said it is boosting various research and exploring policies to prevent addiction of medical narcotics among cancer patients.

The KASCC was founded on September 3, 2021, under KSMO, to improve the lives of cancer patients through education, academic research, and health policy development in the field of palliative care for cancer patients and related healthcare providers.

On June 26, when the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held an event to mark the 38th International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, or World Drug Day, KASCC Secretary General Won Young-woong, a professor of hematology-oncology at Hanyang University Guri Hospital, received a presidential citation for his contribution to the fight against illegal drugs.

Professor Ko Se-il of hematology-oncology at Kyungpook National University Hospital in Changwon, who is a member of the Planning and Policy Committee of the KASCC conducted the first study in Korea on the rate of dependence on narcotic painkillers used for medical purposes among cancer patients and published it in the journal of the Korean Society for Hospice and Palliative Care.

Ko also conducted a multicenter study of transdermal buprenorphine treatment for cancer patients with narcotic painkiller dependence, which will be published in The Oncologist, the journal of the Society for Translational Oncology (STO).

KASCC President Kang Jung-hoon, who is a professor of hematology-oncology at Gyeongsang National University, said the KASCC will continue to carry out various activities to prevent medical drug addiction and ensure their proper use by Korean patients.