TOKYO: Japan’s National Cancer Center said Monday that it will start online clinical trials of drugs for rare cancers in August by linking its hospital in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward with medical institutions in rural areas.

The project involving the National Cancer Center Hospital is aimed at making it easier for patients in the countryside to join clinical trials and reduce their economic burdens.

The online clinical trials will be initially conducted with two institutions in western Japan–Shimane University Hospital in the city of Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, and National Hospital Organization Shikoku Cancer Center in Matsuyama, the capital of Ehime Prefecture. The National Cancer Center plans to expand the project to other areas in the future.

According to the center, 525 clinical trials for cancer treatment had been conducted at the National Cancer Center Hospital as of the end of March, compared with less than 10 at many university hospitals in rural areas. Most medical institutions that have facilities for rare cancer drug trials are in urban areas.

Patients wishing to join the planned online clinical trials will first need to undergo examinations at local hospitals to confirm whether they meet conditions for taking part in the trials.

Those who meet the conditions will receive online explanations about details of the clinical trials from doctors of the National Cancer Center Hospital in the presence of doctors of the local hospitals. The participating patients will take drugs to be sent to their homes.

Cancers covered by the trials will initially include epithelioid sarcoma, which often appears in peripheral nerves of the limbs.

“The project will help patients in rural areas to participate in clinical trials more easily,” Kazuaki Shimada, head of the National Cancer Center Hospital, said, adding that online clinical trials may support swift regulatory approval of drugs.

JIJI Press