What is Next Generation Hokushin Cancer Pro?

The four prefectures of Nagano, Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui are characterized by an extremely low birthrate and aging population, as well as a large number of cancer patients who receive all medical care, from diagnosis to treatment and terminal care, in their local communities. This project (Next Generation HOKUSHIN Cancer Project) will train medical personnel in collaboration with multiple facilities and professions to seamlessly provide high-quality medical care in the region, from diagnosis to treatment and end-of-life care. Mutually complementary educational courses (15 regular courses and 10 intensive courses) have been newly established to combine the strengths of the six collaborating universities, enabling students to learn the latest information in the field of cancer care outside their area of specialization, which is necessary for the provision of cancer care. The program will train personnel for cancer prevention, pathological diagnosis, radiation and nuclear medicine treatment, home palliative care, genetic counselors and oncology clinical psychologists to support pediatric and AYA generation cancer survivors, and genome drug discovery and side effect countermeasures necessary for the development of novel immunotherapies and personalized medicine. We aim to establish a human resource development model for regional cancer care in Japan, where the birthrate is declining and the population is aging, by promoting collaboration within the region in multiple professions through exercises and lectures that incorporate online education.

Cultivation of Human Resources to Respond to Issues Emerging in the Field of Cancer Care

There is a high demand from cancer patients and their families for home care and physical, mental, and social pain care, and there is a need to improve the provision rate of end-of-life care at home in addition to providing palliative care from the time of diagnosis. There are few radiation therapists and pathologists in the Hokushin region, and few healthcare professionals specializing in oncology cardiology, oncology nephrology, and geriatric oncology. We aim to raise the level of medical care in the Hokushin region by training personnel skilled in radiotherapy, pathology, oncology cardiology and nephrology, and geriatric oncology.

Training of Personnel to Promote Cancer Prevention

We train personnel who can promote cancer prevention from the perspective of personalized prevention, cancer genome medicine, hereditary tumors, and palliative care seamlessly across generations from children and AYA to the elderly. Specifically, the program will train personnel who can practice zero-level prevention of cancer by utilizing multi-omics analysis and big data, as well as those who can provide psychosocial care to emotionally support those who have experienced cancer.

Cultivation of Human Resources Capable of Developing New Treatment Methods

Through research and development of novel CAR-T therapies, we aim to train personnel with expertise in cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy. Specifically, in addition to exploratory research on CAR-T cell seeds, lectures and exercises by basic cancer researchers, drug discovery venture and research administrators, and personnel exchange with Baylor College of Medicine in the U.S. will be actively incorporated to provide education that is highly competitive internationally. In addition, through research on overcoming resistance to immunotherapy and molecular-targeted drugs using ICI, we train students to develop optimal personalized medicine.