An assessment of the characteristics and quality of diagnostic accuracy studies for positron emission tomography conducted in Japan: a systematic review.

Background: Systematic evaluations of the diagnostic accuracy of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging have been widely conducted in many countries. Although Japan's total number of PET units is the second highest in the world, very limited effort has been made to systematically assess the methodological quality of PET studies in Japan. We performed a systematic review to assess the characteristics and quality of PET diagnostic accuracy studies conducted in Japan and to analyze the factors related to their quality.

Effectiveness of nationwide screening program for neuroblastoma in Japan.

Background: Neuroblastoma (NB) is one of the most malignant neoplasms in childhood. In Japan, while a nationwide screening program at six months of age was introduced in 1985, its efficacy has not been systematically evaluated before or after its introduction. The screening test was changed from a qualitative method to a quantitative method (i.

Are Japanese randomized controlled trials up to the task? A systematic review.

Objectives: Despite increasing numbers of RCTs done in Japan, existing international databases fail to capture them, and detailed information on the quality of Japanese RCTs is still missing. This study assessed the characteristics and quality of Japanese RCTs and analyzed factors related to their quality.

Methods: All RCTs conducted in Japan, and published as original articles that assessed the effect of healthcare interventions on humans in 2010, were included.

Cost-effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy for curatively resected gastric cancer with S-1.

Background: The effectiveness of specific regimens of adjuvant therapy for gastric cancer has not been verified by large clinical trials. Recently, several large trials attempted to verify the effectiveness of adjuvant therapy. The Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial of TS-1 for Gastric Cancer in Japan, a randomized controlled trial of adjuvant S-1 therapy for resected gastric cancer, demonstrated significant improvement in overall and relapse-free survival, compared to surgery alone.

The effectiveness and efficiency of disease management programs for patients with chronic diseases.

Objective: Disease management (DM) approach is increasingly advocated as a means of improving effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare for chronic diseases. To evaluate the evidence on effectiveness and efficiency of DM, evidence synthesis was carried out.

Methods: To locate eligible meta-analyses and systematic reviews, we searched Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, SCI-EXPANDED, SSCI, A&HCI, DARE, HTA and NHS EED from 1995 to 2010.

Cost-effectiveness of nutritional intervention on healing of pressure ulcers.

Background & Aims: Pressure ulcers not only affect quality of life among the elderly, but also bring a large economic burden. There is limited evidence available for the effectiveness of nutritional interventions for treatment of pressure ulcers. In Japan, recently, a 60-patient randomized controlled trial of nutritional intervention on pressure ulcers demonstrated improvement in healing of pressure ulcers, compared with conventional management.

History of healthcare technology assessment in Japan.

There has been a rapid growth of healthcare technology assessment (HTA) activities among health service researchers and physicians in Japan in the younger generation since the mid-1980s. HTA has become visible since the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) set up the several committees related to HTA in the late 1990s. The MHLW had to participate in regulatory and administrative reform, coping with the serious economic stagnation since 1991, following the economic recession in the 1980s.

Cost-effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy with uracil-tegafur for curatively resected stage III rectal cancer.

Recently, the National Surgical Adjuvant Study of Colorectal Cancer in Japan, a randomised controlled trial of oral uracil-tegafur (UFT) adjuvant therapy for stage III rectal cancer, showed remarkable survival gains, compared with surgery alone. To evaluate value for money of adjuvant UFT therapy, cost-effective analysis was carried out. Cost-effectiveness analysis of adjuvant UFT therapy was carried out from a payer's perspective, compared with surgery alone.