Annual Report 2022
Division of Bioethics and Healthcare Law
Kenji Matsui, Tsunakuni Ikka, Haruka Nakada, Waki Toya, Hoko Nakagawa, Hitomi Harada
Introduction
The mission of the Division of Bioethics and Healthcare Law is to investigate ethical, legal, and sociopolitical issues (ELSI) regarding biomedical research, medical practice, and public health, as well as to study research ethics education methodologies. The Division currently consists of one research staff, one research assistant, one research fellow, and three concurrent staff from the Bioethics Division at the Center for Research Administration and Support (CRAS) whose role is to support ethical research activities at the National Cancer Center, such as providing educational training on research ethics, managing conflicts of interest (COI) about research, and providing research ethics consultation services.
Research Activities
Research methodologies in bioethics and healthcare law include both theoretical and empirical approaches, since bioethics and healthcare law are interdisciplinary research fields. We are currently interested in topics that are diversified from research and clinical ethics to bioethics in general, such as ELSI on vulnerable subjects in research, innovative fetal-maternal interventions, unproven vaccines, biobank materials, secondary uses of medical data and information, medical practice without scientific evidence, sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), assisted reproductive technology (ART), and patient and public involvement (PPI) in cancer whole-genome sequencing research. We are also developing educational programs and a framework of certification programs for research ethics consultants.
Education
We collaborated with the Research Ethics Section of the Japan Association for Bioethics to organize a regular bimonthly research conference and a bimonthly reading club on various research ethics topics.
Future Prospects
We will strengthen and expand our activities regarding research and human resources development through various, timely, and innovative ELSI studies.
List of papers published in 2022
Journal
1. Takashima N, Nakamura Y, Miyagawa N, Kadota A, Saito Y, Matsui K, Miura K, Ueshima H, Kita Y. Association between C-Reactive Protein Levels and Functional Disability in the General Older-Population: The Takashima Study. Journal of atherosclerosis and thrombosis, 30:56-65, 2023
2. Ikka T, Fujita M, Hatta T, Isobe T, Konomi K, Onishi T, Sanada S, Sato Y, Tashiro S, Tobita M. Difficulties in ensuring review quality performed by committees under the Act on the Safety of Regenerative Medicine in Japan. Stem cell reports, 18:613-617, 2023
3. Takashima N, Nakamura Y, Miyagawa N, Kadota A, Tanaka-Mizuno S, Matsui K, Miura K, Ueshima H, Kita Y. Association between Stress-Coping Strategy and Functional Disability in the General Older Adult Population: The Takashima Study. Gerontology, 68:699-706, 2022
4. Nakamura Y, Tamura T, Narita A, Shimizu A, Sutoh Y, Takashima N, Matsui K, Miyagawa N, Kadota A, Miura K, Otonari J, Ikezaki H, Hishida A, Nagayoshi M, Okada R, Kubo Y, Tanaka K, Shimanoe C, Ibusuki R, Nishimoto D, Oze I, Ito H, Ozaki E, Matsui D, Mikami H, Kusakabe M, Suzuki S, Watanabe M, Arisawa K, Katsuura-Kamano S, Kuriki K, Nakatochi M, Momozawa Y, Kubo M, Takeuchi K, Wakai K. A genome-wide association study on adherence to low-carbohydrate diets in Japanese. European journal of clinical nutrition, 76:1103-1110, 2022
5. Ibuki T, Yamamoto K, Matsui K. The Fetus as a Research Subject. The American journal of bioethics, 22:76-78, 2022
6. Iwase H, Tanaka-Mizuno S, Takashima N, Kadota A, Matsui K, Nakamaura Y, Miura K, Ueshima H, Kita Y. Relationship of leisure-time and household physical activity level and type with cardiovascular disease: secondary analysis of the Takashima Study data. BMC cardiovascular disorders, 22:132, 2022
7. Hatta T, Ide K, Fujita M, Ikka T. Financial risks posed by unproven cell interventions: Estimation of refunds from medical expense deductions in Japan. Stem cell reports, 17:1016-1018, 2022
8. Nakada H, Takashima K, Maru Y, Ikka T, Yuji K, Yoshida S, Matsui K. Public Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccinations before Dawn in Japan: Ethics and Future Perspectives. Asian bioethics review, 14:287-302, 2022
9. Toya W. Chapitre 8. Clinical research on CAM - Discussion on Kampo, a Japanese complemenary alternative medicine (CAM), and evidence based medicine (EBM)BM. Journal international de bioethique et d’ethique des sciences, 33:121-131, 2022
Book
1. Takai Y, Matsui K. Pseudoscience During the COVID-19 Pandemic. In: Faintuch J, Faintuch S (ed), Integrity of Scientific Research: Fraud, Misconduct and Fake News in the Academic, Medical and Social Environment, Germany, Springer, pp 61-68, 2022