The 69th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Cancer Association
Message from the President
It is my great honor to announce that Osaka is hosting the 69th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Cancer Association (JCA) from 22 to 24 September 2010. 18 years has passed since Professor Kumao Toyoshima served as the President of the 51st Annual Meeting in Osaka, and we are striving to make the most of the beauty of this region in preparation for another success, supported by Osaka University, as well as other universities and institutions in the surrounding areas.
Remarkable developments have been evident in the recent studies of life sciences. At the 68th Annual Meeting of JCA held last year, many participants engaged in quite lively discussions on new findings on carcinogenesis, including cancer stem cells, microRNA and EMT. Also in the area of medical engineering, extraordinary progresses have been observed in the fields of nanoparticles and medical robots, and it seems no longer a dream to visualize various in vivo phenomena. At the same time, however, as one of the clinical practitioners involved in the bedside treatment of patients for many years, I cannot help feeling that these exciting and productive scientific discoveries have not been fully utilized to benefit practical and daily treatments of patients.
The theme of the 69th Annual Meeting, “Conquering Cancer with Collective Wisdom” carries our commitment to make it an opportunity to explore more effective and efficient initiatives to put those scientific achievements and findings into practical application in the treatments of patients with cancer. Progress in the research drives more specialized and departmentalized approaches, and it would take a concerted collaboration among all the relevant parties including basic and clinical researchers, related academic societies, medical and pharmaceutical companies, and administrative agencies to conquer the disease, based on mutual understanding and with the proper environments and conditions in place.
The number of participants in the JCA meetings has been on a gradual decline in recent years, presumably due to the decreasing number of clinical researchers of cancer.
Providing highly specialized, cutting-edge information and findings is one of the most significant missions of the meeting, and at the same time, it is also important to provide opportunities for non-scholars to obtain a wider view on the latest trend of fast-evolving cancer research so that researchers and clinical workers can work together more effectively in the conquest of cancer.
For this purpose, we plan to have “Intensive Cancer Research Courses” in addition to conventional morning seminars and organ-specific symposia. All the sessions on this course will be held in the same room for three days in order to provide appropriate settings to acquire thorough and cohesive knowledge on cancer. We expect this program will serve as opportunities for young researchers to study the basics of the disease, and for clinical workers to reorganize and consolidate their knowledge on cancer from broader perspectives beyond their respective expertise.
In addition, JCR-AACR Joint Symposium plays an essential role in the meeting to give global views on the conquest of cancer. Held under the theme of “Invasion & Metastasis”, this symposium is planned to be joined by two worldly renowned researchers from USA, Dr. Joan Massague from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Dr. Robert Weinberg from MIT. The latest scientific knowledge will be presented in this session from both Japan and USA. Another key program is a symposium on MicroRNA, given by Dr. Carlo M. Croce from Ohio State University, USA. We are earnestly working on other compelling programs including special lectures and public sessions to attract as many participants as possible to join the meeting.
To conclude, I would like to emphasize that presentations and discussions on a wide spectrum of topics by and among participants are essential to succeed in “Conquering Cancer with Collective Wisdom”. We cordially wish for active participation and welcome any suggestions and comments to make this meeting more significant and fruitful.
