Preface
More than 10 years has passed since the National Cancer Center Hospital East (NCCHE) was opened in the city of Kashiwa on July 1, 1992. At the beginning periods the hospital appeared to stand on a vast wasteland. During the past ten years, however, the moving of Tokyo University and other institutions to the neighboring area has changed the whole scenery around the hospital. Also, our clinical activities have been remarkably enriched in the meantime. In April 1994, The National Cancer Center Research Institute East was opened at the same Campus, and this was the start of collaboration between staff members in the research institute and the hospital. Many joint projects are now ongoing in the fields of surgical pathology, molecular biology, developmental therapeutics, psycho-oncology, and clinical epidemiology. In April 1997, NCCHE became the second hospital in the world to have proton therapy equipment available for patients. After long investigation at inquiry commission, it was finally approved to be applicable for the treatment of solid tumors as clinical practice in the end of February 2000 and the Proton Therapy Division was newly founded in NCCHE in October 2002. In addition, positron emission tomography (PET) that came to be in operation in January 2001 disclosed its diagnostic utilities, and more than a thousand of patients have been examined up to the present. Furthermore, the full induction of a hospital information system named MIRACLE (Medical Information system for Research, Administration and Clinical Expertise) into NCCHE in the beginning of 2002 enables consolidation of medical information derived from NCCH and NCCHE, contributing to greater cooperation between the two hospitals.
The NCCHE has 425 beds and consists of 9 clinical divisions described on the following pages. As of January 1, 2003, the hospital staff included 75 physicians including 15 part-timers, 9 pharmacists including 1 part-timer, 39 technicians including 4 part-timers, 258 nurses including 6 part-timers and 48 residents. During 2002, we took care of 127.519 outpatients (including 7,426 newcomers) and 6,997 (6% increase of that in 2001) inpatients including 2,208 (12% increase of that in 2002) cases who underwent surgery under general anesthesia. The number of patients treated still increases, and except PCU, around 400 patients are always in the waiting list for admission, despite few increases in the number of staff members and their great effort for shortening the hospital stay of inpatients. Nevertheless, all employees are trying their best to respond to the expanding demands of treating this increasing number of patients. Having overcome many difficulties and challenges since the initial opening of the hospital, we are now a fully integrated cancer treatment center. Actually, quite a few papers listed on the following pages were published in various international journals in 2002, showing that our work here is of international importance.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the support that we have received from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, other governmental organizations, private organizations, individuals and the Foundation for the Promotion of Cancer Research. In addition, I am grateful for the diligence of my colleagues in the hospital who have devoted their efforts and talent to publishing this report.
March 2003
Satoshi Ebihara, M.D.
Director, National Cancer Center Hospital East
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