The five-year survival rate for male and female patients in Japan who were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 2012 and 2015 came to 10.7 percent and 10.2 pct, respectively, the lowest among all cancer types except for childhood cancers, the National Cancer Center said in a survey report on Tuesday.
The research group developed Crunch, short for Connector for Removal of Unwanted Cell Habitat, a protein that binds to unwanted cells to make it easier for macrophages to pick out their target. By modifying the Crunch protein’s structure, it can latch onto different types of unwanted cells. Mice with skin cancer or autoimmune diseases were injected with Crunch protein. The team confirmed that harmful cells, such as cancer cells, either exhibited suppressed growth or were reduced in number.
A health ministry panel of experts on Friday called for consolidating surgeries and radiotherapies for cancer treatment, citing such reasons as the dwindling number of surgeons in Japan. Shortages of surgeons are expected to accelerate toward 2040, according to the proposals. Radiotherapy devices are expensive and the number of patients who need radiotherapy varies by region. Demand for cancer surgeries is projected to decrease by 5 pct by 2040, while that for radiotherapy is projected to increase by 24 pct, according to the panel.
A team of Kyoto University and other researchers has developed a method of predicting with high accuracy the risk of developing esophageal cancer by analyzing cells collected from inside a person’s cheeks.The team’s findings were published in an online international medical journal in April. Its study covered 222 people aged 40-94, all with a history of smoking and drinking habits who were either esophageal cancer patients or did not have such cancer.
The 10-year survival rate of people diagnosed with cancer in Japan in 2012 came to 54.0 pct, up slightly from 53.5 pct for those diagnosed in 2011, the National Cancer Center said Thursday. By cancer type, the 10-year survival rate was 57.9 pct for stomach cancer, the most common cancer among the patients surveyed, and 58.1 pct and 32.6 pct, respectively, for bowel cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, the second and third most common types.
SoftBank Group Corp. said Thursday it will launch a service by the end of this year that suggests appropriate cancer treatment by analyzing genetic information and other health care data using artificial intelligence.
A unique genetic mutation was found in more than 70 pct of certain kidney cancer patients in Japan, a higher percentage than in other countries, an international team of researchers said Tuesday.
Its cause is unclear, and there is a high possibility that unknown carcinogenic factors are involved, said the team of researchers, including from the National Cancer Center Japan. The finding was published in the British science journal Nature on May 1.
Many hospitals in Japan have experienced difficulties dealing with cancer patients with dementia, a survey by the Japan Cancer Society showed Saturday.
The survey was carried out in April-June 2023 for 451 hospitals designated by the health minister to provide high-quality treatment to cancer patients, with 256 of them, or 57 pct, giving responses.
According to the sources, a man hospitalized in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, claimed that he is Satoshi Kirishima, 70, who has been wanted in the serial bombing case for about half a century. The man is said to be suffering from terminal cancer.
Tokyo police Thursday arrested a 47-year-old former chief physician of the National Cancer Center Hospital East near Tokyo for allegedly taking bribes in return for giving special treatment to a medical equipment maker.
Barrier Free Japan