Atsushi Ochiai, M.D., Ph.D.
Congress President
The 92nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association
(Director of Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center, National Cancer Center)
It is my pleasure to announce that the 92nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association will be held from March 4th to 6th, 2020, at PACIFICO Yokohama (Yokohama Minato Mirai).
While there has been a decline in the morbidity and mortality rate of gastric cancer, there still currently remains approximately 50,000 patient deaths caused by gastric cancer in Japan, and the development of new methods of diagnosis and treatment for gastric cancer is desired more than ever before.
The progress in medicine has advanced with the progress of science and technology beginning from the end of the last century, such as new computer technology, materials technology, molecular biology technology, and information technology, which have now become integrated into actual life, and also, with respect to medical treatment, there have been significant changes in diagnosis and medical treatment such as the introduction of genomic medicine last year, the development of new diagnostic techniques, robotic surgery, molecular-targeted therapy, and personalized medicine. The environment of the health science is changing drastically in clinical aspects including aging patients and public healthcare issues. Although the number of gastric cancer patients will increase in a next decade, it is projected to decrease substantially in 20–30 years in Japan. Therefore, the consolidation and specialization of gastric cancer medicine are required. While the reduction in patients suffering from gastric cancer is an extraordinary achievement for medical professionals, it is considered necessary for medical professionals treating gastric cancer to propose and create new clinical models to transition from conventional methods of treatment.
The theme for the Meeting is “Beyond the frontier - Consideration of next-gen practice of gastric cancer based on the new science,” and our aim is to consider and discuss topics together on how the future of gastric cancer treatment will change in Japan, and how we should change it, by solving current issues with leading-edge science. In particular, while learning about new treatment methods and research to contribute to the future of gastric cancer treatment, we also wish to seek the future direction of the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association at this 92nd Annual Meeting.
As before, we will be holding various symposiums including those inviting overseas guest speakers to explore the basic understanding of gastric cancer, focusing on next generation pathology diagnosis, robotic surgery, and functional endoscopy which will prevalently continue to be introduced in the coming years. We also wish to discuss the medical challenges such as scirrhous gastric cancer that we must overcome, and to share the latest information with a view beyond the realms of the next generation in the symposiums, special lectures, presidential lecture, and educational lectures, probing into new treatments based on the experiences in battling gastric cancer, and to take the first step to paving the way toward building alternative systems.
