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| Chief Yuta Okawa, M.D. |
Shoko Furukawa, M.D. | Ryo Kadokura, M.D. |
At the Div. of Endocrinology and Metabolism, diagnoses and treatments are provided for endocrine disorders (hormonal abnormalities in thyroid gland, pituitary gland, adrenal gland, etc.) as well as metabolic disorders including diabetes and hyperlipidemia as complications developed in cancer patients. Endocrine and metabolic systems are critical for survival, as they adapt to physical and mental stresses and maintain physical homeostasis (i.e., maintaining normal physical functions). Substances produced within a body having endocrine and metabolic actions are called “hormones.” Diabetic patients have been increasing in Japan lately due to the westernized diet, and diabetes is a disease induced by less potent insulin, which is a hormone to lower the blood sugar count. When the blood sugar count is high, a wound will not be healed speedily and the immunity against infection will be lowered. That means a cancer patient with diabetes might not be able to start his/her surgical or medical cancer therapy as desired, and will have high risks for various complications or troubles during the therapy. In addition, some of the new anti-cancer drugs are reported to induce disorders in endocrine and metabolic organs. Therefore, managements for endocrine and metabolic disorders should be done in parallel with cancer treatments, so that the patients can have their cancer treatments without any delay or obstacles.
We focus on the blood sugar control for a patient who is currently taking diabetic treatment at another hospital or whose diabetes has been identified only when he/she took the examination for cancer, in order to make his/her transition to the cancer treatment smooth without delay or obstacles. Especially when a patient has a cancer in such an organ as pancreas that functions to control the blood sugar count, diabetes might worsen during or after the cancer treatment. Therefore, we sometimes ask a patient to be admitted to the ward earlier than usual in order to provide him/her with a careful blood sugar control before starting on the cancer treatment.
We provide early examinations and treatments for endocrine disorders induced by cancer treatments. Some of the anti-cancer drugs may develop these disorders with the symptoms including fatigue, and appetite and weight losses. These symptoms, however, can often be undetermined without any distinguishable subjective complaints or detectable abnormality in the blood test, which may result in difficulty or delay for a precise diagnosis sometimes. We make our utmost efforts working together with other clinical divisions to let the cancer treatments be continuing just as scheduled.
We support the patients to let them continue their cancer treatments without worries even when they have diabetes or endocrine disorders.
endocrinologic and metabolic medicine (specifically hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system)
Specialist in Internal Medicine Certified by the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine
Specialist Certified by the Japan Endocrine Society
Specialist Certified by the Japan Diabetes Society
The Japanese Society for Hypothalamic and Pituitary Tumors
The Japan Neuroendocrine Society
