Annual Report 2023
Division of Health Services Research
Takahiro Higashi, Tomone Watanabe, Yuichi Ichinose, Yoko Yamamoto, Ryoko Rikitake, Taisuke Ishii, Mariko Niino, Mei Matsuki, Tamaki Kakuwa, Rei Goto, Yu Mizushima, Hiroko Suketomo, Takehiro Sugiyama, Yasuo Hamamoto, Momoko Iwamoto, Hideaki Kobayashi, Soshiro Ogata, Shunsuke Murata, Yuri Ito, Masato Ohta, Taro Tomizuka, Junna Sakane, Kiyomasa Nakatsuka, Ayako Okuyama, Toshitaka Morishima, Mieko Takasawa, Akira Kawata, Makoto Nishimori, Atsushi Miyawaki, Kaoru Konno, Yuriko Nishikawa, Junko Koseki
Introduction
The Division of Health Services Research conducts research that contributes to the improvement of the quality of cancer care in Japan through meaningful evaluation of health systems and health policy performance.
The Team and What We Do
1. Cancer registry-linked DPC database
As part of our ongoing initiative to monitor the quality of cancer care in Japan using a database of cancer registry-linked DPC data, we continued building the database for cancer patients diagnosed in 2020. Following the data collection from a total of 625 hospitals, adherence to the standards of care, previously devised based on clinical guidelines, was analyzed using existing Quality Indicators (QIs) across various cancers. The QIs for cervical cancer were revised, and 15 new QIs were established. A total of 86 QIs were analyzed before the results were fed back to each participating hospital. We completed the final results as a report.
2. Rare Cancer Control Policy
Starting from this year, the Division of Quality Assurance Programs has been in charge of revising the policy for rare cancer control, and our division has proceeded with the project in cooperation.
To define rare cancers in Japan, we are collaborating with pathologists and clinicians to create a new rare cancer classification. We have also been assigned the administrative task of facilitating the Working Group for Rare Cancer Control Policy by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MoH). We have conducted surveys and collected information from hospitals nationwide on the current care practices for patients with soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities, eye tumors, and neuroendocrine neoplasms (NET and NEC). Based on the results, we updated an on-line information platform where patients can freely access information regarding current care practices.
3. Monitoring and Evaluation of National Cancer Control Programs
The Division of Health Services Research continued to implement an evaluation program to assess the recent Cancer Control Policy in Japan. The third survey of cancer patient experience was launched, and the results of 14,797 patients across 382 hospitals were analyzed. A report will be prepared in the future.
We have launched another project to establish appropriate evaluation indicators to assess the overall function of designated cancer care hospitals (DCCHs) across Japan. With the aim of creating a logic model based on the guidelines for DCCHs, interviews and surveys were conducted, and the opinions collected were reflected in the logic model.
Research Activities
As part of the Quality Indicator (QI) study on cancer treatment, we collected cancer registry-linked DPC data from the patients diagnosed with cancer in 2020 from 625 hospitals, and analyzed 86 QIs. The results were fed back to each participating hospital, and a report was presented.
Education
We hosted nine medical students from the University of Tokyo for a clerkship in Public Health. We conducted a lecture on the activities of the Institute for Cancer Control. In addition, we invited adjuvant researchers from other universities/research institutes.
Future Prospects
The division envisions facilitating evidence-based policymaking and improving the care of cancer patients by monitoring the performance of cancer policy and quality of care among cancer treatment centers across the country. To serve this purpose, the division is working to provide an information exchange platform along with solid baseline data for specialists and various stakeholders, designed to foster evidence-based exchange of ideas for cancer policy planning.
List of papers published in 2023
Journal
1. Okuyama A, Mizutani T, Tachibana K, Higashi T, Ogawa A. Treatment Patterns and Postoperative Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Retrospective Study Using Nationwide Health Services Utilization Data in Japan. Annals of surgical oncology, 31:3409-3416, 2024
2. Suzuki S, Nagumo Y, Kandori S, Kojo K, Nitta S, Chihara I, Shiga M, Ikeda A, Kawahara T, Hoshi A, Negoro H, Bryan MJ, Okuyama A, Higashi T, Nishiyama H. The prognostic impact of treatment centralization in patients with testicular germ cell tumors: analysis of hospital-based cancer registry data in Japan. International journal of clinical oncology, 29:318-324, 2024
3. Omura G, Yoshimoto S, Rikitake R, Eguchi K, Nakamizo M, Nibu KI. Comparison of survival outcomes between adolescent and young adults and older adults with tongue squamous cell carcinoma: a nationwide database study using the head and neck cancer registry of Japan. International journal of clinical oncology, 28:221-228, 2023
4. Ogata D, Namikawa K, Nakano E, Fujimori M, Uchitomi Y, Higashi T, Yamazaki N, Kawai A. Epidemiology of skin cancer based on Japan's National Cancer Registry 2016-2017. Cancer science, 114:2986-2992, 2023
5. Wada S, Watanabe T, Ishii T, Ichinose Y, Rikitake R, Ogata D, Nakano E, Namikawa K, Yamazaki N, Higashi T. A retrospective study of sentinel lymph node biopsy for skin cancer in Japan: Comparison with breast cancer and evaluation of factors related to its use. Cancer medicine, 12:21364-21372, 2023
6. Watanabe T, Rikitake R, Kakuwa T, Ichinose Y, Niino M, Mizushima Y, Ota M, Fujishita M, Tsukada Y, Higashi T. Time to Treatment Initiation for Six Cancer Types: An Analysis of Data from a Nationwide Registry in Japan. World journal of surgery, 47:877-886, 2023
7. Okuyama A, Kosaka H, Kaibori M, Higashi T, Ogawa A. Activities of daily living after surgery among older patients with gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary-pancreatic cancers: a retrospective observational study using nationwide health services utilisation data from Japan. BMJ open, 13:e070415, 2023