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Japan's 54,000-Patient Cancer Panel Study Finds Many Targets, Few Treatments

Limited access to matched drugs in Japan remains the key barrier.

Overview

  • The National Cancer Center and Keio University analyzed records from June 2019 to June 2024 and released the results on January 8 in an international journal.
  • Targetable genetic alterations were identified in 72.7% of tested solid-tumor patients.
  • Only 8.0% received matched therapy overall, with uptake increasing from 5.5% in 2019–20 to 10.0% in 2023–24.
  • Treatment linkage varied by cancer type, reaching 34.8% in thyroid cancer and 20.3% in non-small cell lung cancer, but about 1% in pancreatic and liver cancers.
  • Patients who received matched therapy tended to live longer, with the strongest results from domestically approved drugs and relatively favorable outcomes via clinical trials or the patient-requested therapy pathway.