Department of General Internal Medicine

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine: Masaaki Shoji, Takeshi Iwasa Department of Diabeto-oncology / Endocrinology: Ken Ohashi, Keiichiro Osame, Yukiko Okazaki, Atsushi Goto

Introduction

The increasing number of cancer patients who visit the National Cancer Center Hospital have a wide range of non-cancer related medical problems such as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, and kidney diseases. Cancer or its treatment can aggravate the pre-existing medical conditions and sometimes cause these problems. These medical issues must be addressed and managed along with the cancer itself so that our patients can benefit from optimal cancer therapies and we can improve their prognosis. The Department of General Internal Medicine was reorganized in October 2010 to better serve the diverse needs of such cancer patients and provide more comprehensive, patient-centric cancer care. Our staff have experience and expertise in their respective fields and manage these issues comprehensively.

The Team and What We Do

We consult with cancer patients on both an inpatient and outpatient basis at the request of NCCH cancer specialists. The reasons include preoperative assessment of surgical risks, assessment of ischemic heart disease, management of hyperglycemia, treatment of heart and renal failure, management of infections, and other medical disorders. When necessary, we also offer appropriate referral to other health care facilities for further evaluation or treatment. In addition, patients seen in consultation may be followed up after discharge as outpatients for the duration of their care at the NCCH.

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine Introduction

The Department of Cardiology deals with cardiovascular disease (heart disease and vascular disease). The subjects are ischemic heart diseases (angina and myocardial infarction), arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, lower limb arteriovenous thrombosis and the like. Mainly, the condition of the heart during the perioperative period or chemotherapy is evaluated by using an electrocardiogram and echocardiography, and the heart is managed so that the cancer patient can receive the best treatment. Cardiovascular disease can sometimes suddenly become life threatening and may require urgent treatment. In such cases, we cooperate with neighborhood hospitals that can provide emergency treatment such as catheter treatment and highly intensive treatment. In recent years, onco-cardiology has been prospering as an interdisciplinary area that connects the cancer and cardiovascular fields, and we are also studying the effects of anticancer agents on cardiac function and venous thrombosis, which is often found in cancer patients.

Future Prospects

In the future, we plan to further advance the current research. Especially for venous thrombosis, a new anticoagulant (NOAC) has started to be indicated and is expected to replace the conventionally used warfarin, so it is important to investigate the efficacy and safety in cancer patients. Although some data are collected at this hospital, it is necessary to carry out research jointly with other institutions. J-COSMOS (Japanese Cardio-Oncology network for Scientific Methodologies to improve the Outcome of cancer Survivors), which we are also involved in as an executive committee, is an onco-cardiology network for basic research, clinical research, and epidemiological research all over Japan.

Department of Diabeto-oncology / Endocrinology:

We provided more than 750 diabetes consultations in 2021, including perioperative management of diabetes, treatment of steroid-induced hyperglycemia during chemotherapy, and so on. In many cases, initiation of insulin was the treatment of choice. We also offered close follow-up on an outpatient basis for those with diabetes during their cancer treatment at the NCCH. Alongside the expanding use of immune checkpoint inhibitors, cases of immune-related endocrinopathies, such as type 1 diabetes, thyroiditis and hypophysitis leading to adrenal insufficiency, soared in 2021. To respond to the increasing needs of consultations related to hormone-producing adrenal cancers and pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma, we launched the Onco-Endocrinology Clinic in June 2021.

List of papers published

Journal

1. Sase K, Fujisaka Y, Shoji M, Mukai M. Cardiovascular Complications Associated with Contemporary Lung Cancer Treatments. Current treatment options in oncology, 22:71, 2021

2. Shoji M, Inaba K, Itami J, Hamada M, Okamoto H, Iwasa T, Ushigusa T, Yoshida M, Matsuyama TA, Otsuka T, Kumagai K, Hirao K, Maguire P, Qian P, Gardner E, Zei PC. Advantages and challenges for noninvasive atrial fibrillation ablation. Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology: an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing, 62:319-327, 2021

3. Takahashi M, Okazaki H, Ohashi K, Ogura M, Ishibashi S, Okazaki S, Hirayama S, Hori M, Matsuki K, Yokoyama S, Harada-Shiba M. Current Diagnosis and Management of Abetalipoproteinemia. Journal of atherosclerosis and thrombosis, 28:1009-1019, 2021