Cancer genomic medicine in Japan and the roles of pharmacists.

Cancer genomic medicine (CGM) is a medical service that provides optimized treatment for each patient based on genes, biomarkers, environment, and lifestyle. In Japan, the approval of designed core hospitals for CGM started in 2017. In June 2019, two types of cancer gene panel tests became available in the national health insurance system, and CGM was socially implemented.

Formulation Development of Mucoadhesive Microparticle-Laden Gels for Oral Mucositis: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study.

In order to relieve pain due to oral mucositis, we attempted to develop mucoadhesive microparticles containing indomethacin (IM) and gel preparations with IM microparticles that can be applied to the oral cavity. The mucoadhesive microparticles were prepared with a simple composition consisting of IM and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Two kinds of PVA with different block properties were used, and microparticles were prepared by heating-filtration and mixing-drying.

[Efforts toward the Development of Pharmacist Involvement in Genomic Medicine].

Since September of 2017, the Department of Pharmacy at Keio University Hospital has participated in activities of the A-3 Group in the "Program for Promoting a Platform of Genomics-based Drug Discovery" conducted by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). The A-3 Group works to develop programs for fostering human resources in genomic medicine in order to solve various problems, and the Keio Department of Pharmacy plans and holds twice-yearly seminars for pharmacists interested in genomic medicine. In this review, we give an overview of efforts toward the development of pharmacists involved in genomic medicine, and we present the results of questionnaires about previous seminars.

Evaluation of community pharmacist ability to ensure the safe use of oral anticancer agents: a nationwide survey in Japan.

Objectives: A recent study of community pharmacists in Canada reported that they required additional education. We conducted a survey of community pharmacists to evaluate the adequacy of education and training in oral anticancer agents in Japan.

Methods: Between May and June 2014, community pharmacists were asked to complete a questionnaire by using two different survey strategies, one online and one via postal mail.

The impact of pharmacist certification on the quality of chemotherapy in Japan.

Background In the Japanese healthcare system, board certification not only maintains the quality of daily practice but is also required for hospitals to receive healthcare reimbursement. To date, no data on the effects of the board certification system in Japanese hospitals have been reported. Objective We performed a survey to clarify the impact of pharmacist certification on the quality of chemotherapy.