Annual Report 2023
Preface
Given the rapidly aging society and the improvement of innovative medical technology, societal needs for cancer control and information are becoming more sophisticated and diverse. To address these needs, the Institute for Cancer Control (ICC) has been promoting research to propose policies suited for the current society.
The main areas of research are carried out by the Division of Epidemiology, the Division of Prevention, the Division of Cohort Research, the Division of Screening Assessment and Management, the Division of Screening Technology, the Division of Population Data Science, the Division of Behavioral Sciences, the Division of Survivorship Research, the Division of International Health Policy Research, the Division of Bioethics and Healthcare Law, and the Division of Biostatistical Research. These divisions collaborate to promote various types of research ranging from deriving evidence for primary prevention, secondary prevention (cancer screening), and tertiary prevention (living with cancer) of cancer to drive cancer control and delivery to all. We are promoting epidemiological research to determine the causes of cancer, development of new effective cancer screening methods and behavioral intervention methods for cancer survivors, science-based cancer prevention methods, cancer screening guidelines, and quality assurance methods, mathematical analysis, and policy evaluation using various statistical information, and research for widespread implementation of preventive interventions. The ICC promotes the development of a large-scale ongoing cohort research infrastructure, a pooled analysis infrastructure for large-scale cohort studies in Japan and overseas (Japan Cohort Consortium, Asia Cohort Association, Japanese Consortium of Genetic Epidemiology studies), the National Center Cohort Collaborative for Advancing Population Health (NC-CCAPH), and the infrastructure to ensure rapid implementation of evidence-based interventions throughout the country. The ICC also has strategic infrastructures (J-SUPPORT, N-EQUITY, and SaQRA) for the fast and reliable implementation of evidence-based interventions nationwide. In addition, the Division of International Health Policy Research, the Division of Bioethics and Healthcare Law, the Division of Biostatistical Research, and other divisions have been established to take on fundamental areas essential for promoting public and social medicine research.
The Group for Cancer Control consists of the Division of Cancer Information Service, the Division of Quality Assurance Programs, the Division of Policy Evaluation, the Division of Health Services Research, and the Center for Cancer Registries. We provide the nation’s reliable cancer information through our website, “Ganjoho.jp,” supporting its utilization and nationwide dissemination. We also provide training for healthcare professionals and pathology consultations nationwide for designated cancer hospitals. We are developing a nationwide cancer network through a council of prefectural-designated cancer hospitals and the Association of Clinical Cancer Centers. Additionally, we oversee the medical system and clinical sites and conduct health service research to build a database and a system that provides necessary medical care to patients. Furthermore, based on the Cancer Registration Act, we organize reviews, collect data from prefectures, and aggregate data for the nationwide cancer registration project. In addition to the national cancer registry, we collect and publish data from in-hospital cancer registries.
The Section for Comprehensive Research Planning and Promotion plans and manages cross-organizational activities and research beyond each division’s specialization. Collaboration between experts from different fields is necessary to implement evidence-based policymaking. Examples of tailored cross-organizational projects for the current society include creating fact sheets on colorectal cancer control (including prevention, screening, and treatment), global contribution to the development of guidelines for cancer prevention in Asia, and a survey of opinion regarding cancer screening (upper age limit, screening interval, etc.) from the Panel of the patients and public, and other projects that are relevant to current society.
The Institute for Cancer Control aims to bring together diverse expertise of social medicine researchers to create a multi-sectorial system that bridges processes from research to policy implementation.
Hitoshi Nakagama, M.D., D.M.Sc.
Director, National Cancer Center Institute for Cancer Control