Methodological issues for determining intervals of subsequent cancer screening

The gap between nationwide recommendations of cancer screening and the related evidences obtained from Korean adults should be filled. Estimation of the mean sojourn time (MST) in a specific cancer is important to determine the intervals of subsequent screening. This author arranged the methods for calculating MST into 5 categories based on the parameters used. Under the legal barrier for protection of individual privacy and confidentiality in a Korean academic situation, the methods involving the use of transition rates or prevalence/incidence ratio would be applicable among these methods.