Takeda F, Uki J
WHO Collaborating Center for Cancer Relief and Quality of Life, Saitama Cancer Center, Japan.
Ann Acad Med Singap. 1994 Mar;23(2):296-9.
One out of every four deaths in Japan is due to cancer, so that health-care workers and the lay public have gradually become aware of the importance of cancer pain relief and palliative care in recent years. In 1984, the feasibility and effectiveness of the WHO method for relief of cancer pain was demonstrated in Japanese cancer patients. Thereafter, information on the latest knowledge and skills in cancer pain relief and palliative care has been disseminated through medical meetings, publications and mass communication networks. The national government published manuals of care for terminally ill cancer patients and amended narcotics regulation in order to improve the accessibility of opioid analgesics, especially morphine, to cancer patients with pain. These activities resulted in a 35-fold increase in the annual consumption of morphine preparations for medical purposes between 1979 and 1992. However, the annual consumption per capita is still much smaller than that in other developed countries, indicating the need for further information dissemination and professional education in the implementation of palliative care programmes.
在日本，每四例死亡中就有一例归因于癌症，因此近年来医护人员和普通民众逐渐意识到缓解癌症疼痛及姑息治疗的重要性。1984年，世界卫生组织缓解癌症疼痛方法在日本癌症患者中得到了可行性和有效性验证。此后，有关癌症疼痛缓解及姑息治疗的最新知识和技能信息通过医学会议、出版物及大众传播网络得以传播。国家政府发布了晚期癌症患者护理手册，并修订了麻醉品管理规定，以提高癌症疼痛患者获取阿片类镇痛药，尤其是吗啡的便利性。这些举措使得1979年至1992年间用于医疗目的的吗啡制剂年消费量增长了35倍。然而，人均年消费量仍远低于其他发达国家，这表明在实施姑息治疗方案方面仍需进一步开展信息传播和专业教育。
