Chiba Prefectural Cancer Center in Chuo district confirmed a serious medical incident on 6/2. Hospital leadership admitted that the treatment team based their surgical decision on erroneous data, leading to the unnecessary removal of a body part, and pledged compensation to the victim.

The error originated from the data entry process into the electronic medical record system last year. The patient's actual biopsy results showed a stable condition, requiring only periodic monitoring. However, the responsible doctor carelessly pasted another patient's cancer diagnosis results into his record. Based on that incorrect information, the treatment team decided to surgically remove the entire prostate and pelvic lymph nodes three months later.

Chiba Cancer Center Director Atsushi Kato (second from left), along with colleagues, apologized for the mistaken surgery incident on 6/2. Photo: *Akira Miyashita*.

The hospital only discovered the error when the post-operative tumor pathology results did not match the malignancy level recorded in the previous file. The unnecessary major surgery caused the man to suffer severe post-operative complications and serious psychological trauma.

For the patient who actually had cancer (whose results were mistakenly taken), the biopsy data in the electronic record was left blank. Fortunately, the treating doctor timely detected the anomaly and cross-referenced it with the original test slip before intervention, preventing a chain of errors.

At the press conference, Center Director Atsushi Kato publicly apologized and took responsibility. He affirmed that the hospital would tighten identity verification procedures during data entry, requiring doctors to directly cross-reference original results instead of relying solely on the system. An independent expert committee was also established to investigate the cause and will soon publish a detailed report.

According to Japanese media, this is not the first time this medical facility has been negligent in record management. In 2015, one serious specimen mix-up here led to a woman in her 30s having her entire right breast removed, despite her cancer being in an early stage.

Binh Minh (According to Asahi Shimbun)