Okazaki Shohei, Murata Masumi, Kitamoto Yoshizumi
Department of Radiology, Gunma Prefectural Cancer Center, 617-1, Takahayashinishi, Ota, Gunma, 373-8550, Japan.
J Radiat Res. 2024 Dec 3;65(6):864-871. doi: 10.1093/jrr/rrae078.
This study aimed to visualize the current situation and trends in radiation therapy in Japan using open data from the Japanese National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups (NDB). We downloaded the NDB open data from the website of Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and used Python libraries to analyze the receipt data related to radiation therapy from fiscal year 2014 to 2022. The number of radiation therapy plans peaked in 2019, temporarily declined and subsequently showed a gradual increase. Conversely, the total points associated with radiation therapy have consistently increased without any decline. The use of high-precision radiation therapies such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has increased over time. Significant regional differences exist, with the Chubu and Kyushu regions showing higher total points and receipts per certified radiation oncologist. A correlation was observed between the number of IMRT plans per population and the number of certified radiation oncologists. Males exhibited a sharp peak in their early 70s, while females demonstrated a mild peak from their 40s to 80s. In recent years, the points for males in their early 70s have rapidly increased. We used the NDB open data to illustrate the current situation and trends in radiation therapy in Japan, highlighting reduced costs and workloads. This study underscored the regional differences in radiation therapy and emphasized the need to discuss strategies for meeting future demand.
本研究旨在利用日本国民健康保险索赔和特定健康检查国家数据库（NDB）的开放数据，可视化日本放射治疗的现状和趋势。我们从日本厚生劳动省网站下载了NDB开放数据，并使用Python库分析了2014财年至2022年与放射治疗相关的收据数据。放射治疗计划的数量在2019年达到峰值，随后暂时下降，随后呈逐渐上升趋势。相反，与放射治疗相关的总点数持续增加，没有任何下降。随着时间的推移，强度调制放射治疗（IMRT）等高精度放射治疗的使用有所增加。存在显著的地区差异，中部和九州地区每名认证放射肿瘤学家的总点数和收据数较高。观察到每人口IMRT计划数量与认证放射肿瘤学家数量之间存在相关性。男性在70岁出头时出现一个高峰，而女性在40多岁到80多岁时出现一个温和的高峰。近年来，70岁出头男性的点数迅速增加。我们利用NDB开放数据说明了日本放射治疗的现状和趋势，强调了成本和工作量的降低。本研究强调了放射治疗的地区差异，并强调需要讨论满足未来需求的策略。
