Preface
Forty 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 consisted 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. Two 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, 2002, the hospital staff consists
of 116 staff doctors, 21 pharmacists, 82 technicians, 425 nurses, and
106 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 diagnosis, treatment and primary cancer
prevention. The hospital accepts about 60 foreign and 200-250 Japanese
trainees every year. In 2001, 199,569 persons were treated as inpatients
and 229,259 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 2001, the network system was further expanded to
include eight prefectural cancer hospitals, for a total of 15 institutions
connected.
In 2001, Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Labour have been
combined to achieve higher efficiency in a small government. Thus, Ministry
of Health, Labour and Welfare presently directs activities of National
Cancer Center.
This is the 7th "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, Labour 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 2002
Tadao Kakizoe, M.D.
Director, National Cancer Center Hospital
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