Tag - cancer

 
 

CANCER

A Pfizer logo is shown at a research facility in San Diego, California. Cancer patients given the Phizer drug sigvotatug vedotin didn’t live significantly longer than those given standard therapy.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 23, 2026
Pfizer’s lung cancer drug trial fails to boost survival
Patients given the drug, called sigvotatug vedotin, didn’t live significantly longer than those given standard therapy.
Yasuo Urata, the president and CEO of Oncolys BioPharma, said in an interview Wednesday in Tokyo that he wants to develop treatments that improve the quality of life for patients.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 18, 2026
Oncolys president reflects on long journey to world-first cancer treatment
Yasuo Urata hopes the newly approved viral therapy will improve quality of life for esophageal cancer patients.
"The next five years are critical in defining Daiichi Sankyo’s future,” CEO Hiroyuki Okuzawa said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2026
Daiichi Sankyo bets on new cancer drugs to fuel future growth
The Japanese drugmaker aims to more than double oncology revenue to above ¥2.3 trillion by 2030 and become one of the world’s top five oncology players by 2035.
A Maholo humanoid robot carries out a series of tasks at the Institute of Science Tokyo's Robotics Innovation Center, during the center's opening last month.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
May 4, 2026
Japanese scientists push for AI use in medical research and diagnoses
The technology has the potential to free staff from time-consuming, repetitive lab work and reduce human error.
Revolution Medicines’ pancreatic cancer therapy daraxonrasib has delivered stunning results in clinical trials, offering patients significantly more time to live and laying the groundwork for future advancements in treating this deadly disease.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2026
Finally, real progress against pancreatic cancer
The challenge comes from how late the disease is discovered — some 80% of pancreatic cancer patients’ tumors have already spread by the time of diagnosis.
Navigating cancer treatment as a foreign resident of Japan can be an added layer of stress, but nonprofit organizations and community resources are available to support those with a diagnosis.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Apr 20, 2026
Counseling and community for foreign cancer patients in Japan
Navigating cancer treatment as a foreign resident can be daunting, but mental health clinics, nonprofit organizations and other platforms can support the journey.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to makes an announcement about lowering the cost of drug prices, at the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Dec. 19, 2025.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 1, 2026
Drugmakers delay some European launches with a wary eye on Trump’s pricing policies
The White House has been pushing to lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S., which has traditionally paid significantly more than other wealthy countries.
An Australian man’s monthslong quest to fight his rescue mutt Rosie’s cancer using artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT has grabbed the attention of OpenAI boss Sam Altman.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 30, 2026
One man, his dog, and ChatGPT: Australia’s AI vaccine saga
Australian Paul Conyngham used artificial intelligence to design a personalized experimental treatment for his sick dog and find top scientists to administer it.
Nana Shimada, an executive officer at FamilyMart and a breast cancer survivor, understands how some people may not want to disclose their cancer diagnosis.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 26, 2026
Japan firms step up efforts to support women balancing cancer treatment and work
With cancer expected to affect 1 in 2 people in Japan, more businesses are strengthening support systems for affected employees while also promoting awareness.
An Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft remains parked at the airport after the flight was canceled at Incheon International Airport in South Korea on March 5.
WORLD
Mar 16, 2026
Middle East war disrupts pharma air routes and risks cancer drugs supply
The conflict has knocked out key air transit hubs and closed shipping routes.
Saitama Prefectural Children’s Medical Center head Akira Oka (center left) and other staff bow to reporters in the city of Saitama on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 12, 2026
Unexpected drug found as Saitama hospital probes death of teen after treatment
An anticancer drug found in a patient’s cerebrospinal fluid was not intended for use in the therapy he received.
A small group of people carry rare genes that slow aging itself, protecting them from major diseases even when their lifestyles are far from ideal. Scientists hope to replicate these protective effects.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2026
Why some people live to 100 despite doing everything wrong
A recent study showed that longevity is roughly 50% genetic and 50% environmental — a substantially higher genetic contribution than earlier research indicated.
Homeroom teacher Yoko Hirota in a classroom set up at Fukuoka Children's Hospital in Fukuoka. Hirota is now in her sixth year of teaching in a hospital classroom.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Mar 9, 2026
Fukuoka’s in-hospital classes help students keep up with school
Despite the burden of treatment, students are striving to learn, and some even take their high school entrance exams in their hospital rooms.
St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 18, 2026
Two women in Japan give birth after frozen ovarian transplants
It is rare that post-transplant pregnancies and childbirths by those who entered menopause due to cancer treatment have been closely monitored.
A collection of wooden toy cars is displayed at the family home of Koshiro Kido, a boy who died from childhood cancer at the age of 13 in 2021.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Feb 9, 2026
Campaign aims to raise funds in memory of boy who loved woodcraft
Yasunobu Tsuruta crafted wooden toys with Koshiro Kido, who later died of pediatric cancer at the age of 13.
Kyoto University Hospital said a combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy and radiation therapy has proved to be effective to treat patients with esophageal cancer.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 23, 2026
Immunotherapy effective against esophageal cancer, study shows
Very few patients developed serious side effects, the hospital said, underlining the safety of such treatment.
Prostate cancer logged the highest five-year survival rate by cancer type, according to a health ministry survey based on data from Japan's national registry.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2026
Five-year cancer survival rates released using national registry data
According to the data on some 990,000 people diagnosed with cancer in 2016 across the country, prostate cancer logged the highest net survival rate.
King Charles III was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer last February but said Friday he will be able to reduce his treatment in 2026.
WORLD
Dec 13, 2025
King Charles shares news of reduced cancer treatment in TV address
Charles made the latest announcement in a televised broadcast as part of a national cancer awareness campaign in Britain.
Shimon Sakaguchi, one of the three winners of this year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, speaks during an interview in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, on Nov. 13.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2025
Nobel winner Shimon Sakaguchi aims for effective cancer treatment
The University of Osaka professor has established startup RegCell in the United States to develop a therapy using regulatory T cells.
Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller spray contains glyphosate, which was classified by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2015 as "probably carcinogenic to humans."
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 6, 2025
Ghostwriters, polo shirts and the fall of a landmark pesticide study
A flagship study that declared the weedkiller Roundup posed no serious health risks has been retracted with little fanfare.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival