Objective : The economic aspect of pharmaceuticals is becoming a major issue of health care financing in Japan due to the high total volume of drug consumption. To consider the feasibility and usefulness of pharmacoeconomic (PE) studies in health policy making, we aimed to conduct a review of PE studies published in Japan.
Methods : We collected original published PE studies conducted in Japan from 1985 to 1995, by retrieving through computer databases such as MEDLINE and JMEDICINE, as well as other methods. We then reviewed the papers according to a checklist developed by Drummond et al.
Results : Fourteen articles were found to satisfy the inclusion criteria. The overall checklist compliance rate were 45.8%. All of the PE studies were based on randomized clinical trial. Most of the studies lacked some important elements of PE analysis, such as the identification of all important and relevant costs and consequences (14.3%) and the presentation of all issues of concern (7.1%). Furthermore, most models and assumptions used in the studies were considered by us to be unreliable and inappropriate.
Discussion : The quality of PE studies conducted in Japan was not considered by us to be satisfactory and our analysis identified areas for improvement. Further improvement in this field is urgently needed and may be achieved through PE guideline development and the training of specialists.

Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer go through various life events during their illness trajectory, and there is often insufficient information on their diseases due to their rarity. Few chances are available for AYA patients to meet and share information with each other. Therefore, at the National Cancer Center Hospital in Japan we hold AYA Hiroba, a monthly get-together for AYA patients to communicate with each other. This study investigated satisfaction and effect with the activity. Methods: We have held the AYA Hiroba activity once a month since May 2016. We asked participants to complete a questionnaire at each session.Results: We held the activity 33 times between May 2016 and May 2019. A total of 130 patients participated, and 97 of them completed the questionnaire, including providing demographic data, since October 2017. The respondent demographics were as follows: sex (male/female), 38/59; median age, 29 years (range 14–39 years); outpatients/inpatients, 31/66; number of sessions attended (1/≥2), 42/55; and cancer type (sarcoma/malignant lymphoma/brain tumor/germ cell tumor/leukemia/melanoma/breast cancer/neuroblastoma/Wilms tumor/lung cancer/cervical cancer/nasopharyngeal cancer/tongue cancer/blank), 45/11/9/7/6/5/3/3/2/1/1/1/1/2). Many attendees perceived the activity favorably: “It was very satisfying” (61.7%), and “It was very helpful” (65%). The feedback was classified into three categories: “interaction with the same generation”, “diversion”, and “getting information”. Discussion: AYA patients have a great need to communicate with each other, and the feedback suggests that AYA Hiroba would be effective in interaction with the same generation, diversion and getting information. Most participants were very satisfied with the program.