Public hospitals were established to provide high quality medical services to low socioeconomic status patients. This study examined the effects of public hospitals on the treatment and prognosis of patients with five-major gastrointestinal (GI) cancers (stomach cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, bile duct cancer, and pancreatic cancer). Among the 1,268 patients treated at Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center from January 2010 to December 2017, 164 (13%) were in the medicare group.

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... The data were analyzed to identify and compare the clinical manifestations, treatment modality, and clinical outcomes between the groups. No statistically significant differences in the clinical data (age, sex), treatment method, and five-year survival rate were observed between the health insurance group and medicare group in the five major GI cancer patients. On the other hand, some medicare group patients tended more comorbidities and fewer treatment options than health insurance patients. Public hospitals have a positive effect on the treatment and prognosis in medicare group patients with the five-major GI cancers.