Welcome to the 25th Annual Meeting of JASTRO
Dear friends and colleagues:
It is a great honor to welcome you to the 25th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (JASTRO) that will be held from November 23 to 25, 2012 at the Tokyo International Forum in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. JASTRO will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of its establishment at the 2012 annual meeting and we therefore plan to hold a commemorative ceremony and a banquet on November 22, the day before the proceedings of the annual meeting begin.
In the past it has been the case that the JASTRO annual meeting has been held from Thursday to Saturday over a three-day period. However, opinions were expressed that it would be difficult for members to participate on these days of the week and we therefore decided to hold the meeting from Friday, November 23, Labor Thanksgiving Day, to Sunday, November 25. I am convinced that many members will be able to participate in the annual meeting as Tokyo International Forum is conveniently located in the center of Tokyo.
We are highly appreciative of the 619 abstracts that have been submitted. Including special lectures and symposium, a total of more than 670 papers will be presented, which is the largest ever number of papers in the history of the annual meeting. Many papers submitted not only by radiation oncologists but also medical staff, including medical physicists, radiation technologists and nurses, are very interesting and informative. Given the variety of papers submitted it has proven difficult to program them all in, but ultimately all of the submitted papers have been accepted. Lectures that should be attended for receiving or renewing a board certification as a radiation oncologist will be carried out during the program. Exhibitions by more than 40 companies will be also performed.
Regional cooperative cancer hospitals authorized by the government are being established for the purpose of providing high quality cancer healthcare for all people in an equitable manner. There is a particular focus on radiation treatment, and in order for a hospital to be designated as a regional cooperative cancer hospital the compulsory conditions are to have a radiation treatment machine installed and full-time oncologists working on-site. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, and Technology (MEXT) has initiated a full-fledged plan to develop specialists in radiation therapy and medical physics, and is carrying out a training plan for experts in cancer treatment. These programs by MEXT have definitely resulted in the progression and advancement of some young medical scientists as radiation oncologists and radiation physicists, but the supply of radiation oncologists to regional cooperative cancer hospitals has not yet caught up with demand.
The provision of high quality cancer healthcare through the establishment of institutions with radiation therapy apparatus and development of specialists in radiation therapy undoubtedly is of merit for cancer patients as they can expect to receive standardized treatment at a nearby cancer hospital (care center). However, the current situation presents us with the problem that the development of sufficient numbers of radiation oncologists and medical physicists has not kept pace with demand.
There is no mistaking that it is a highly alluring goal for radiation oncologists to be able to treat various cancers regardless of the age of patients. However, in reality it must be recognized that it is impossible for radiation oncologists to be familiar with the cancer treatment of all organs because treatment modalities for cancers have progressed rapidly and have become more complicated due to the development of multidisciplinary treatment approaches.
In an environment in which supply of human resources is not keeping pace with demand, we must ask ourselves whether this balanced approach, whereby there is a requirement for multiple high quality institutions to be established that are installed with radiation therapy apparatus and staffed by specialists in radiation therapy, would not be better served through the creation of specialist cancer centers.
In order to seek an answer to this dilemma we set the main theme of the 25th Annual Meeting of JASTRO as follows: “Creating the Future of Radiation Therapy: Now is the time to verify whether the concept of ‘Providing high quality cancer healthcare for all’ meets the various needs of cancer treatment or not.”
On the first day of the meeting, JASTRO will host the 4th Japan-Korea-China Trilateral Symposium on Radiation Oncology and the JASTRO-ESTRO workshop. I believe these events will provide excellent opportunities for us to discuss the future direction of radiation oncology. In addition, I would be grateful if we and concerned countries could share our experiences and knowledge through the symposium.
In conclusion, it goes without saying that the success of this meeting will depend on your enthusiastic, earnest and positive presentations and discussions. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your warm support and cooperation. I am looking forward to meeting all of you in Tokyo.
Sincerely yours,
Norio Mitsuhashi M.D., Ph.D.
President of the 25th Annual Meeting of JASTRO
Professor and Chairperson
Department of Radiation Oncology, Tokyo Women’s Medical University
