Annual Report 2022
preface
Under the vision of providing the best possible cancer treatment and care through a committed partnership with the community, the National Cancer Center Hospital (NCCH) Japan has functioned as a hub hospital for cancer therapy in Japan, provided the optimal medical treatment for each patient with cancer, and undertaken high-quality clinical research to discover more effective, safer, brand-new medicines or medical devices ever since its establishment in 1962. Today, one in two citizens develops cancer, which is a challenging illness to overcome. We shall continue to meet the high demand for first-rate treatments, for cancers of all organs.
In FY2022, the Tokyo metropolitan government also requested special-function hospitals to hospitalize COVID-19 patients. Although our specialty is with cancer, we prepared an isolated ward with 32 beds, 2 of which were for severe cases. The number of patients requested by health centers has remarkably decreased, but that of in-house cancer patients with positive PCR test results increased to 369 in FY2022. In addition, 761 hospital staff members had been infected with COVID-19 in our hospital probably due to the more infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19. However, we maintained the high reliability of our cancer medical service.
Building on our cancer care expertise and clinical research platform, we spearhead clinical trials and provide advanced therapeutics, as a clinical research core hospital.
Interventional and invasive investigator-initiated clinical trials numbered 297 at the end of March 2023. During FY2022, the new trials we started were 83 industry-sponsored, 8 investigator-initiated, 59 multinational, and 16 first-in-human trials. Our clinical research activity has never been restricted despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The prospective trial of patient-proposed healthcare services with multiple targeted agents based on the result of gene profiling by multigene panel test (BELIEVE) registered a total of 536 cases, and 188 cases within FY2022. Twelve cancer genomic medicine core hospitals participated, with 21 drugs from 8 sponsors, some of which were also provided to children; 4 drugs were provided at 6 participating hospitals.
In medical development, we continued the MASTER KEY project, an academia-industry collaborative registry study of rare cancer patients combined with multiple investigator-initiated trials. By the end of FY2022, 2917 patients with solid cancers and 291 patients with hematological cancers were enrolled, which is more than initially expected. The registered patients gained access to 11 industry-sponsored trials and 16 investigator-initiated trials. The Asian expansion part, MASTER KEY Asia, launched in 2021 and 288 solid cancer patients from 11 Asian hospitals were enrolled by the end of FY2022.
The Minimally Invasive Revolutionary treatments with Advanced Intelligence (MIRAI) project was launched in 2020 to promote the development of innovative medical devices much called for by society, and nurture young talent driving the development of minimally invasive treatments. We are committed to integrating our innovative world-class gastrointestinal/respiratory endoscopy and pancreatic/biliary interventions with interventional radiology, and delivered breakthrough minimally invasive treatments in FY2022.
In September 2020, the National Cancer Center launched the Asia Clinical Trials Network for Cancers Project (ATLAS project) with support from the government and AMED. The mission of the ATLAS project is to formulate a multinational cancer clinical trial network, a sound structure for conducting international collaborative trials on a permanent basis in the Asian region. On April 24, 2022, ATLAS International Symposium 2022 was held in Bangkok, Thailand. The Asian network building project has been fully launched. On October 6, 2022, the first ATLAS Board Preparation Committee was held. Many researchers from 26 institutions in 9 countries, including Japan, participated in the meeting. This meeting also served as a kick-off meeting, and further development of the ATLAS network was discussed as well.
During the year, all extra measures were carried out whilst minimizing the effects of the current pandemic on normal cancer care, and the NCCH has launched several projects to realize our vision. We appreciate your understanding and support as we report on fiscal year 2022.
National Cancer Center Hospital
Director, Kazuaki Shimada