Introduction of the related facilities and counseling clinics

Health care cooperation in heavy ion radiotherapy
Medical cooperation in health care between various medical specialists and institutions

Treatment in cooperation with the attending physician

Except for the Gunma University Heavy Ion Medical Center, which is part of a university hospital, and i-ROCK at the Kanagawa Cancer Center, each heavy ion radiotherapy facility is a medical institution in which the department of radiology is the only clinic. Although heavy ion radiotherapy can be provided as a specialized medical service, other clinical practices and examinations are requested to be performed as health care cooperation by the attending physician who introduced the patient.

Some heavy ion radiotherapy facilities perform the following health care cooperation.

Specialized treatment other than radiation

For example, facilities specializing in irradiation cannot indwell a spacer in the body when delivering a heavy ion beam to a tumor in the vicinity of the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, the facilities need to request cooperating surgeons to perform a spacer indwelling laparotomy. When a facility specialized in irradiation irradiates a head and neck tumor or the like via the oral cavity, cooperating dentists need to provide dental treatment in advance, which includes oral diagnosis, tooth extraction, and cast crown removal.

Emergency care cooperation

If a patient's condition takes a sudden turn for the worse during heavy ion radiotherapy, the patient is treated in cooperation with critical care specialists.

Cooperation in hospitalization when all beds are occupied

In recent years, more and more patients have wished to undergo heavy ion radiotherapy. Each facility has a limited number of beds, and thus can receive only a limited number of patients. If a patient cannot be admitted to any heavy ion radiotherapy facility, the patient may be requested to stay at a cooperating hospital nearby, but only if it is possible for the patient to travel between the hospital and the facility.

Heavy ion radiotherapy on an outpatient basis for patients of urban medical institutions

Heavy ion radiotherapy on an outpatient basis for patients of urban medical institutions The Hyogo Ion Beam Medical Center, in cooperation with a number of urban medical institutions, provides on-site outpatient services for the convenience of patients who are able to receive such services. (For details, please contact the Hyogo Ion Beam Medical Center.)

Start of outpatient heavy ion beam cancer therapy at Kyushu University Hospital

In the spring of 2013, the first heavy ion radiotherapy facility in the Kyushu region (southwestern Japan), the Kyushu International Heavy Ion Beam Therapy Center (known as SAGA HIMAT), was opened in Tosu city (Saga, Japan).
Moreover, Kyushu University Hospital initiated outpatient heavy ion beam cancer therapy in April 2012, according to a course in heavy ion beam cancer therapy contributed by SAGA HIMAT's main management body, the public interest incorporated foundation Saga International Heavy Particle Beam Cancer Therapy.
In cooperation with domestic charged particle therapy facilities, Kyushu University Hospital provides information for patients who wish to undergo charged particle therapy, determines whether these patients can undergo the therapy, introduces eligible patients, and follows up treated patients, for example. (For details, please contact Kyushu University Hospital [Japanese page only])

The birth of J-CROS

In April 2016, the Japan Carbon-Ion Radiation Oncology Study Group (J-CROS) was organized as a multi-facility joint clinical research group linking the heavy ion radiotherapy facilities in Japan. This organization has a data-handling division and many specialists in biological statistics and other fields necessary for clinical research. J-CROS is expected to play an important role as a site of transmitting evidence about heavy ion radiotherapy.