Annual Report 2022
preface
In FY2022, the spread of COVID-19 has affected the normal health care of medical institutions nationwide. At the Hospital East, we were forced to close several wards during the pandemic period, which affected the number of inpatients.
Under such circumstances, the number of first-time patients in FY2022 was 12,588 (including second opinions), and the average number of outpatients per day was 1,388.2, which was higher than the previous year. The average number of patients who used outpatient ambulance treatment center per day was 223.4, and the number of surgeries performed annually was 4,790, both recorded the highest. Meanwhile, the average number of inpatients per day was 397.8 and the bed occupancy rate was 102.1%, which remains high, although slightly lower than the previous year. Robot-assisted surgeries were also performed in many departments, mainly urology, and with the introduction of the third unit in November 2022, the number of cases increased significantly to a total of 690 in FY2022, one of the highest in Japan. On the other hand, due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, the number of patients has decreased due to a decrease in the number of patients from overseas, such as in proton beam therapy. In FY2022, we started full-scale treatment in the Department of Dermatologic Oncology, and also opened a hotel on the hospital premises primarily to support outpatient treatment, and have started outpatient clinic in the hotel. Telemedicine collaboration with Tsuruoka Municipal Shonai Hospital in Yamagata Prefecture has also progressed, and in December 2022, the hospital began remote assisted laparoscopic surgery with the NCCHE for colorectal cancer under real-time image sharing using high-speed communication devices, and has since expanded to gynecological cancer.
In terms of research, we have undergone major organizational restructuring into the Department for the Promotion of Drug and Diagnostic Development, the Department for the Promotion of Medical Device Innovation, and the Clinical Research Support Office, and appointed the Deputy Directors as department heads for the former two departments to further promote development research, which is the mission of our hospital. The Department for the Promotion of Drug and Diagnostic Development focuses on investigator-initiated clinical trials and translational research, including SCRUM-Japan for advanced cancer and CIRCULATE-Japan for perioperative treatments, and has developed a large number of global evidences, including the world's first demonstration of superiority in detecting postoperative microresidual tumors using liquid biopsy (Nat Med, 2023). In addition, in FY2021, we began full-scale drug discovery and clinical development research using multi-omics analysis (WES/WTS+multiplex IHC). In March 2023, a supercomputer was installed in the Hospital East to store 25,000 cases in a globally state-of-the-art, high-quality industry-academia shared clinical and multi-omics database. Based on these achievements, at the invitation of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC-ARGO), the NCCHE has taken the lead in building a clinical and multi-omics database on a global level with a target of 100,000 cases, aiming to build a global drug discovery infrastructure.
The Department for the Promotion of Medical Device Innovation has launched three NCC-certified ventures, and one of them has developed a surgical support robot that was released in February 2023. It was approved by the regulatory affairs in January, and it is one of the few successful cases in Japan. In addition, we are working on surgical navigation using AI analysis of large-scale surgical images accumulated from multiple facilities in Japan, the construction of a technical evaluation system for surgical techniques, and the development of treatment applications, and future results are expected. In addition, the Clinical Research Support Office provides support for the planning and implementation of a large number of investigator-initiated clinical trials, achieving the largest number of investigator-initiated clinical trials conducted by core clinical research hospitals nationwide, and has launched a "NCC-Venture Incubation Program" for start-up companies inside and outside the center in collaboration with domestic venture capitalists. In FY2022, seven companies were selected to provide support for regulatory affairs and exit strategies, making a significant contribution to obtaining funds and upgrading the stage of each company seed. In addition, the NCCHE has concluded a comprehensive partnership agreement with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and is working with EPOC to jointly develop overseas seeds.
Atsushi Ohtsu
Director,
National Cancer Center Hospital East