Annual Report 2020
Appearance Support Center
Keiko Nozawa, Naoya Yamazaki (Joint appointment in the Department of Dermatologic Oncology), Emi Noguchi (Joint appointment in the Department of Breast and Medical Oncology), Masao Arikawa (Joint appointment in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery), Shoko Toma, Michiko Kato
Introduction
The Appearance Support Center aims to support patients' ability to "live in society" and "live as humans" through clinical research and educational practices regarding patients’ physical appearance.
The Team and What We Do
1. Clinical activities
Our team is comprised of two clinical psychologists (full-time) specialized in cosmetics, who consult both in- and out-patients as well as their families regarding questions and concerns on physical appearance. Example issues include the adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on skin, nails, and hair and scarring and epithesis from surgeries and breast surgery. To expand our practice beyond consultation alone, we are currently developing a new team in collaboration with a dermatologist, plastic surgeon, medical oncologist, pharmacist, and nurses.
The outpatient space is open from Monday to Thursday between 12 pm and 1 pm, during which time patients can freely try on various items and consult staff. Despite having limited hours for security reasons, we saw 696 patients. We also conduct a patient program every Tuesday and Thursday at 1 pm, the main aim of which is to educate patients through group sessions. We had 72 group sessions in which 191 patients participated.
In 2020, the patient program was temporarily suspended between April and June as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 infection, and it resumed in July with a capacity of 4 patients. This has resulted in a decrease in the number of participants and the number of sessions from the previous year.
The total number of new patients for individual consultations was 323 for both outpatients and wards, and the total number of interventions was 2,604. From the perspective of infection prevention, individual consultations have increased and are not in the same room with others. In addition, the continued prohibition of visits, outings, and overnight stays has led to increased interventions with long-term hospitalized patients for stress relief purposes. There were also consultations on concerns over significant life events, such as Shichi-go-san, graduation and entrance ceremonies. Preoperative and postoperative consultations for head and neck cancer patients have been conducted at the Patient Support Research and Development Center on the 8th floor, mainly in collaboration with the Perioperative Outpatient Clinic.
2. Research activities
① Since 2020, we have been conducting research activities with a focus on the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry's Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, funded by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Research contributing to the implementation of high-quality appearance care for cancer patients", and will continue to do so until 2022.
② In regard to the activities of the MHLW group, we have worked on revising the "Guide to Appearance Care for Cancer Patients 2016" into the "Appearance Guidelines for Cancer Treatment," which was presented at the Joint Annual Meeting of Palliative, Supportive, and Psychological Care 2020. The revised version is scheduled to be published in the fall of 2021. We also conducted a web-based survey of 1,000 patients to identify patients' needs for appearance care and the services and issues they require, with a view to proposing an in-hospital and community collaborative model of appearance care. In addition, we designed a randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of a "Basic Education Program on Appeasement care for e-learning" for medical professionals, and applied for its research ethics approval.
Education
With regard to the annual "Education Workshop on Appearance Care of Cancer Patients" for medical personnel at cancer treatment hub hospitals, in light of the spread of COVID-19 infection, the basic course was cancelled and only the advanced course was held online. Lectures were given to trainees of this hospital and observation guidance was provided to medical students. Lectures to residents of the Department of Palliative Medicine were given on a monthly basis. We developed a guidebook, "KNOW HOW TO," as educational material for patients and made it available online.
Future Prospects
The "Third Basic Plan for the Promotion of Cancer Control" addresses the issue of appearance with the aim of further improving the quality of life of cancer patients. It clearly states that appearance support training will be considered, and we hope to continue to build this new field on a research basis.
Author.
Shoko Toma
Conferences
Sponsor: Appearance Support Center (the NCC Hospital)
Conference title: The Educational Workshop on Appearance Care of Cancer Patients for Medical Staff: Advanced course
Date: October 4, 2020
Location (prefecture): Tokyo (To be held online)
List of papers published in 2020
Journal
1. Nishino K, Fujiwara Y, Ohe Y, Saito R, Miyauchi E, Kobayashi T, Nakai Y, Takahashi T, Shibata T, Hamaguchi T, Kikuchi K, Yamazaki N, Fukuda H, Nozawa K, Kiyohara Y. Results of the non-small cell lung cancer part of a phase III, open-label, randomized trial evaluating topical corticosteroid therapy for facial acneiform dermatitis induced by EGFR inhibitors: stepwise rank down from potent corticosteroid (FAEISS study, NCCH-1512). Support Care Cancer, 29:2327-2334, 2021
2. Tsutsui K, Kikuchi K, Nozawa K, Takashima A, Tsuchiyama K, Namikawa K, Aiba S, Yamazaki N. Efficacy and safety of topical benzoyl peroxide for prolonged acneiform eruptions induced by cetuximab and panitumumab: A multicenter, phase II trial. J Dermatol, 2021
3. Tsutsui K, Namikawa K, Mori T, Kato K, Jinnai S, Nakama K, Ogata D, Takahashi A, Yamazaki N. Case of acquired reactive perforating collagenosis induced by panitumumab for colon cancer. J Dermatol, 48:e114-e115, 2021
4. ashimoto H, Iwasa S, Yanai-Takahashi T, Honma Y, Kato K, Hamaguchi T, Yamada Y, Shimada Y, Yamazaki N, Kato Y. Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase II Study on the Efficacy and Safety of Vitamin K1 Ointment for Cetuximab or Panitumumab-Induced Acneiform Eruptions-VIKTORIA Study. Gan To Kagaku Ryoho, 47:933-939, 2020
5. Zenda S, Ryu A, Takashima A, Arai M, Takagi Y, Miyaji T, Mashiko T, Shimizu Y, Yamazaki N, Morizane C, Yamaguchi T, Kawaguchi T, Hanai A, Uchitomi Y, Oshiba F. Hydrocolloid dressing as a prophylactic use for hand-foot skin reaction induced by multitargeted kinase inhibitors: protocol of a phase 3 randomised self-controlled study. BMJ Open, 10:e038276, 2020
6. Nakano E, Takahashi A, Namikawa K, Muto Y, Jinnai S, Kage Y, Mizuta H, Tsutsumida A, Yamazaki N. Correlation between cutaneous adverse events and prognosis in patients with melanoma treated with nivolumab: A single institutional retrospective study. J Dermatol, 47:622-628, 2020
7. Watanabe R, Okano S, Yamazaki N. Fixed drug eruption dramatically exacerbated during treatment with programmed death 1 inhibitor. J Dermatol, 47:e425-e426, 2020