Message from the Director

A New Chapter for The Institute for Cancer Control

The National Cancer Center Institute for Cancer Control was established in September 2021 as a specialized institution to lead public health and social medicine research and cancer control projects. My name is Yutaka Matsuoka, and I will take the helm as the second director of the institute in April 2025. I look forward to working with you.

The external environment surrounding us is changing from time to time, including the rapidly progressing super-aging society known as the 2040 problem in Japan, the development of innovative medical technologies such as genomic medicine, the government's efforts to realize medical DX, Europe's proposal of a new digital strategy Web 4.0, and the implementation of generative AI. Against this backdrop, society's needs for cancer control and cancer information are rapidly becoming more sophisticated and diverse. In response to these needs, there is a need to promote research and projects that promote patient and public involvement (PPI) and active involvement in evidence-based policy making (EBPM) by the government, leading to policy proposals to solve problems. We intend to focus on the promotion of primary prevention based on risk stratification and survivorship care, promotion of the utilization of health and medical data collected based on public funds, and the use of digital technology in the provision of information and consultation support.

The Institute for Cancer Control has its origins in the “Research Canter for Cancer Prevention and Screening” (renamed the Center for Public Health Sciences in 2016), which was established in 2004 with the mission of researching and developing effective cancer prevention and screening methods, and the “Center for Cancer Control and Information Services”, which was established in 2006 in response to the Action Plan for the Promotion of Cancer Control 2005. The Research Divisions conduct a wide range of research from evidence generation to evaluation, guidelines and prevention methods, and policy implementation, covering primary prevention, secondary prevention (cancer screening), and tertiary prevention (living with cancer). In addition, specialized groups in international policy, bioethics and medical law, and biostatistics support these research bases. Meanwhile, the Business Divisions are engaged in the provision of reliable information to the public, training for oncology consultants and healthcare professionals, support for cancer care through pathological diagnosis consultation, creation of quality indicators, patient experience surveys and surveys of bereaved families, and promotion of national and in-hospital cancer registries. In addition, cross-organizational projects that generate synergy effects are beginning to produce results. In both research and business, we share an ideal future vision of “how our work will revolutionize concepts and change the society surrounding cancer,” and we will promote the creation of a strong and healthy team that can work consistently from research and development to policy implementation, with research and business working in unison.

The vision of the Institute for Cancer Control is “Health and dignity for all. To realize this vision, the entire staff will work together to create new foundational scientific evidence and link it to cancer control measures. We will also actively collaborate with other divisions of the National Cancer Center and related domestic and international organizations to deliver reliable cancer information and evidence to all citizens. We look forward to your continued warm understanding and support of the Institute for Cancer Control.

Yutaka Matsuoka
Director – Institute for Cancer Control