Annual Report 2023
preface
The National Cancer Center Research Institute (NCCRI) was established in 1962 as one of the main parts of the National Cancer Center (NCC) and has been driving cancer research in Japan ever since. The NCC was designated a National Research and Development Agency in April 2015. Since then, there has been greater demand than ever to promote research and development and to maximize clinical outputs. To meet this demand, the NCCRI has been collaborating closely with the NCC Hospital, Hospital East, the Institute for Cancer Control, the Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center, the Center for Promotion of Translational Research, and the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics, and has thereby sought to maximize the transition “from bench to bedside”.
In addition to 20 Divisions and 9 independent Research Units, the NCCRI also contains the Fundamental Innovative Oncology Center (FIOC), a core facility for the entire NCC. The FIOC consists of 11 Departments, and it runs the NCC BioBank, prepares bioresources including patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), provides specialized techniques, and facilitates collaborative work with multiple private sector organizations outside the NCC. As of March 2024, the NCCRI has 91 research staff, 58 postdoctoral fellows, and 207 graduate students/supporting staff, all of whom are dedicated to a wide range of cancer research, including cancer prevention based on the identification of cancer-initiating cells and carcinogenic mechanisms, elucidation of the inter- or intra-tumor heterogeneity and in vivo network mechanisms, elucidation of the molecular basis of immune tumor microenvironment, identification of diagnostic and therapeutic targets, development of novel anti-cancer strategies and medical AI research and development.
Outstanding achievements in 2023 in the NCCRI include the following:
(1) Mutational landscape of pan-cancer in Japanese patients through analysis of C-CAT data
(2) Impact of FGFR3 alterations on tumor microenvironment and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in bladder cancer
(3) Novel oncogenic alterations of gastric cancer genome revealed by a large-scale whole genome sequencing
(4) Critical genes and pathways involved in inflammation-associated colon cancer development
In collaboration with the NCC hospitals, the NCCRI has established the J-PDX library, which contains more than 650 PDXs from clinical specimens, and has promoted collaborative studies with industry and academia using the library. A co-clinical study of a new drug showed that PDX models predicted clinical efficacy and served as an effective preclinical evaluation platform. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics, the NCCRI is supporting cancer genomic medicine in Japan and is constructing a system for clinical application and utilization of whole genome analyses with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and AMED.
The NCCRI also actively participates in and leads worldwide cancer research collaborations, including the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and International Cancer Proteogenome Consortium (ICPC). Furthermore, the NCCRI has continued collaborative research to elucidate the carcinogenic mechanisms of various cancers with The Wellcome Sanger Institute in the United Kingdom and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IRAC, WHO). In addition, the NCCRI conducted the government's flagship Moonshot Research and Development Program “Actualization of a cancer-free society through regulation of chronic inflammation” by a consortium of seven Japanese and three US research organizations.
As described above, through enhancing high-quality research and interaction with many domestic and foreign institutes, the NCCRI is actively generating novel modalities to prevent and conquer cancer.
Hiroyuki Mano, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Cancer Center Research Institute