Tadao Kakizoe, M.D.
Director, National Cancer Center Hospital
Thirty-eight years have passed since the Ministry of Health and Welfare established the National Cancer Center as the sole government-supported cancer center in Japan in 1962. The National Cancer Center consists of a hospital, a research institute, and an administration department. In 1993, a new hospital, the National Cancer Center Hospital East, was opened in Kashiwa City, Chiba, about 40 km east of the present National Cancer Center in Tsukiji, Tokyo. The hospitals work cooperatively, with some patients treated solely at Kashiwa or at Tsukiji and others referred between the two hospitals.
The hospital in Tsukiji consists of 12 divisions, which are described in the following pages. As of January 1, 2000, the hospital staff consists of 113 staff doctors, 21 pharmacists, 82 technicians, 408 nurses, and 88 residents and chief residents. The basic policies of the hospital are (1) to make early diagnosis and treatment of cancer, (2) to improve the treatment results for presently intractable cancers, (3) to achieve the best quality of life for patients after definitive therapy, and (4) to develop new procedures for primary cancer prevention and treatment. The hospital accepts about 60 foreign and 200-250 Japanese trainees every year. In 1999, 196,871 persons were treated as inpatients and 194,453 were treated as outpatients.
In 1991 the government approved construction of a new 19-story hospital building at the present location, Tsukiji, to further integrate sophisticated facilities such as developmental therapeutic wards for presently intractable cancers and a cancer information center that provides a significant increase in patient amenities. The new hospital building was completed at the end of 1998 and successfully started its activities in January 1999. Having patients receive the highest quality of treatment in a comfortable setting is a top priority in this new hospital. Clinical activities are based on organ site, without distinction between surgical or medical treatment. Group participation is the method used to manage clinical decision-making regarding patient care.
In 1994, a supercomputer system was introduced to facilitate the effective use of clinical data, to construct three-dimensional images for diagnosis, planning, and simulation of surgery, and for radiotherapy planning. A computer network system connects the National Cancer Center in Tsukiji and the National Cancer Center East in Kashiwa. This network system was expanded to include four national hospitals specializing in cancer therapy in Sapporo, Kure, Matsuyama, and Fukuoka, for TV conferences, telepathology, and teleradiology. In 1999, the network system was further expanded to include eight prefectural cancer hospitals, for a total of 14 institutions connected.
This is the fifth "Annual Report" to summarize the clinical and research activities of the National Cancer Center Hospital together with a list of papers published in English in the year covered by the report.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the support we have received from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, other governmental organizations, private organizations, individuals, and the Foundation for the Promotion of Cancer Research. I also appreciate the efforts of my colleagues in the hospital who devoted themselves to providing complete and accurate information for this report. I would like to dedicate this annual report to the patients who have continuously supported and stimulated us.
March 2000
Tadao Kakizoe, M.D.
Director, National Cancer Center Hospital
