Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology

News from Japan

58th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Cancer Association

The Japanese Cancer Association (JCA) held its 58th annual meeting in Hiroshima on September 29 - October 1, 1999. Although the meeting took place in four separate buildings including the International Conference Center in the Peace Memorial Park, participants could efficiently look around all the places by shuttle bus. The meeting was also blessed with nice weather in autumn.

The President of the JCA for 1999, Dr. Eiichi Tahara, Professor of Pathology, Hiroshima University School of Medicine organized this year's meeting under the main theme "Junction between basic research and clinics". This reminded us of pathologists' roles played for centuries in the connection of cancer research and clinics, and might reflect a view and pride of the President as a pathologist.

More than 2,800 papers were presented in this meeting, including 11 symposia, 19 workshops, 30 educational sunrise, sunset and luncheon seminars. Educational seminars were attended by many earnest researchers and students. In particular, the sunset session entitled "Genome resources and new development of DNA microarray technology" was crowded with a large audience. The papers in workshops were assorted mostly according to organ sites. This arrangement seemed to be comprehensible to clinical oncologists dealing with cancers in particular organ systems. Also included were open lectures for the lay public about cancer diagnosis and environmental factors affecting cancer development.

Two special lectures were presented: Dr. Takashi Sugimura stressed in the lecture entitled "Cancer research and its pitfalls" the importance of originality of research, and suggested that we should be independent of a vogue in science. In the other special lecture "Hereditary cancer", Dr. Alfred Knudson illustrated how the studies of rare hereditary cancer syndromes extended our knowledge about not only hereditary cancers but also carcinogenesis in general.

The United States-Japan Joint Symposium was one of the new experiments in this meeting. Seven papers related to "New tumor suppressor genes" were presented by scientists invited from the United States and Japan, including Dr. Webster K. Cavenee, the former President of the American Association for Cancer Research. Such joint symposium will activate the JCA by facilitating international exchange of human resources as well as cancer information.

The next annual meeting is to be held in Yokohama with the President of the JCA for 2000, Dr. Toshio Kuroki, Professor of Showa University School of Medicine.

T. Tsukada

Award

Keio University, Tokyo, recently named two scientists as a winner of The Keio Medical Science Prize of 1999. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the University of California, San Francisco, and Shinya Yoshikawa, M.D., Professor of the Department of Life Science of the Himeji Institute of Technology, Himeji, will receive a certificate, a meal, and $191,000.

The Keio Medical Science Prize has been based on Keio University Medical Science Fund established in 1994 to recognize and encourage efforts in medicine and the life sciences. The former winners include Dr. Stanley B. Prusiner, San Francisco (1996), Dr. Shigetada Nakanishi, Kyoto (1996), Dr. Robert A. Weinberger, Boston (1997), Dr. Tadatsugu Taniguchi, Tokyo, Dr. Moses J. Folkman, Boston (1998), and Dr. Katsuhiko Mikoshiba, Tokyo (1998).

Dr. Elizabeth H. Blackburn is a leader in the area of telomere and telomerase research. The discovery of ribonucleoprotein enzyme, telomerase, is one of her major works, and she has extended her research activity in various aspects of telomere function in cell biology. Dr. Shinya Yoshikawa and his colleagues have elucidated the complete three-dimensional structure of mammalian cytochrome c oxidase which is the key respiratory enzyme in the mitochondrial membrane. He has also established the pathway for the four-electron reduction of molecular oxygen to H2O by identifying the reaction intermediates. These findings have become a basis for understandings of energy transduction by oxidase in mitochondrial membrane.

The award ceremony will be held on November 24, 1999 on the Shinanomachi Campus of the School of Medicine of Keio University.

H. Asamura

Cancer Statistics Digest Comparison of Mortality and Incidence Trends in Japan Age standardized mortality rates and incidence rates for specific sites are shown. All rates are age-standardized by 1985 Japanese model population. Incidence rates are decreasing more than mortality rates for stomach and uterine cancer. It suggests the possible effectiveness of the cancer control strategy conducted for these sites. Contrary to those, unfortunately, this disparity among the trends in mortality and incidence rates could not be seen for lung cancer. W. Ajiki and S. Yamamoto Source: The Research Group for Population-based Cancer Registration in Japan, 1998

Viewing the News from Abroad

Cancer-related emergencies may be overlooked as more patients seek treatment in an outpatient setting (JNCI 1999; 91:1447-9). Some of the reasons are: oncologic emergencies can be difficult to detect, are small in number, and come in many manifestations. Cancer should be suspected in someone with unexplained fever, weight loss or mass lesion, an expert emergency physician stated. But all kind of manifestations may be associated with cancer and whether oncologic emergency is recognized as such depends largely on the training of an individual physician.

Recognition of these emergencies is also easier in the emergency rooms of cancer centers or large academic centers than in small community hospitals where emergency room physicians generally see few oncologic emergencies. According to the statistics, in 1997 there were more than 9 million emergency room visits throughout the USA. Of these, probably less than 5% are oncologic emergencies but the number may increase as the population ages.

Spinal cord compression is the major cancer-related emergency but superior vena cava syndrome, brain herniation and tumor lysis syndrome are also serious oncologic emergencies. Spinal cord compression is said to be especially tricky because early on the signs may be subtle, making detection difficult. At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, spinal cord compression is ruled out first in any patient with new onset of progressive back pain, new weakness or sensory symptoms in the extremities, or who has urinary retention or incontinence, or bowel incontinence. Patients are given high dose steroids immediately. If a patient presents to the emergency room already experiencing leg weakness and paralysis, full recovery is unlikely.

Neutropenic fever and tumor lysis syndrome can also be a major emergency. Patients with the latter syndrome usually present with acute renal failure. There are many other manifestations related to cancer. A study reported that at Methdist Hospital in Minneapolis, a community teaching hospital, 284 out of 5,640 adult admissions to the emergency room had cancer history. Out of these patients, 122 or 43% experienced oncologic emergencies. Most common presentations were gastrointestinal (48%), pain (40%), neurologic symptoms (38%), cardiac (25%) and pulmonary (23%). Emergency personnel continue to face challenges from acute symptoms of "undiagnosed cancer, vague disease-related symptoms, or complications of cancer treatments" with little information available in the literature.

Institute of Medicine Finds No Link Between Breast Implants and Disease

It is estimated that about 2 million US women have breast implants. Cancer, immunological diseases, neurological problems or other systemic diseases had been suspected to link to breast implants. After reviewing more than 3,000 publications and hearing personal testimony from more than 60 women, a 13-member panel of national scientific experts selected by the Institute of Medicine found no link between breast implants and life-threatening diseases (JNCI 1999; 91:1191).

The panel was, however, concerned about the high rates of local complications with the implants, such as rupture and hardening or scarring of the breast tissue surrounding the implants. Many women who had breast implants were not simply given enough information about possible complications. It is strongly recommended that women be informed of these problems before consenting to the surgery.

The contents of the report on this issue can obtained from World Wide Web at http://www.nap.edu.

Compiled and edited by K. Mukai

International Agency for Research on Cancer (http://www.iarc.fr/) In this section, we have already looked at seven homepages of cancer related institutions and organizations, and most of them are located in the US. It may be true to say that the US is in the forefront of the Internet technology. That is why there are so many splendid homepages that enable cancer patients, clinicians and researchers to make the best use of this wonderful tool. Meanwhile, in Europe, there are also several excellent homepages created and maintained by cancer institutions in each country or European and international organizations. The homepage of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is one of the examples. IARC is part of the World Health Organization, financially supported and managed with participation of 18 major countries in the world. It is involved in both epidemiological and laboratory research and devoted to disseminating scientific information through publications, meetings, courses and fellowships. IARC has been publishing information about cancer through books and articles in scientific journals. The Cancer Database in its homepage provides an opportunity for increased access to such information traditionally available only through books and journals. The database section includes IARC Monographs Database, Cancer Epidemiology Database, P53 Database and others. The IARC Monographs series has been well-known for its authoritative independent assessments of the carcinogenic risks posed to humans by a variety of agents, mixtures and exposures, and the Database on the Internet contains their complete list. "IARC Cancer Epidemiology Database" provides access to information on cancer incidence, mortality and survival worldwide. Although some of the data is only available on CD, "GLOBOCAN" is a great help for people who look for accurate and reliable information on the incidence, prevalence, survival and mortality of cancer in a certain region or country, and the world. "EUCAN" (cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence in the European Union), and "WHO Cancer Mortality Databank" are also very useful databases. These databases are created under the project named "CANCER Mondial". It is a joint project of IARC and the European Commission, through the European Network of Cancer Registries, and its ultimate goal is "embodied in the concept of a "one-stop shop" for information about cancer research and treatment", according to the homepage statement. M. Noda Homepages are re-designing or modified very frequently, and therefore, please note that comments in this section are based on the contents of the homepage at the time of writing.

Announcements

Tumor Prevention and Genetics 2000

(1st International Conference and 5th Annual Meeting of The International Society of Cancer Chemoprevention)

Location: University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Date: February 17-19, 2000
Further information: Conference Secretariat TUP 2000
Mrs. Beatrice Nair
c/o Center for Tumor Detection and Prevention (ZeTuP)
Rorschacherstrasse 150, Postfach
CH-9006 St. Gallen, Switzerland
Tel: +41-71-243-0032
Fax: +41-71-245-6805
E-mail: eso-d{at}sg.zetup.ch
WWW site at http://www.zetup.ch

The Camptothecins: Unfolding Their Anticancer Potential

A New York Academy of Sciences Conference

Location: Ritz-Carlton Hotel Pentagon City, Arlington, Virginia
Date: March 17-20, 2000
Contact for further information:
New York Academy of Sciences
2 East 63rd Street, New York, New York 10021 USA
Tel: +1-212-838-0230 ext. 324
Fax: +1-212-838-5640
WWW site at http://www.nyas.org

ISH 2000 28th World Congress of the International Society of Hematology

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Center, Toronto, Canada
Date: August 26-30, 2000
Hosted by the Canadian Society of Hematology
Abstract deadline: February 29, 2000
Early registration: March 31, 2000
Further information: ISH 2000 Secretariat, 275 Bay Street, Ottawa, Canada, K1R 5Z5
Tel: +1-613-238-9998
Fax: +1-613-236-2727
E-mail: ish2000{at}intertask.net
WWW site at http://www.ish2000.org

To include information of upcoming cancer-related events in the News Section, please send details, including the title, date, place, organization, contact name, address (fax number and e-mail address if any) to the news department of the editorial office of JJCO who also welcome suggestions for news stories. Items in this section are selected for publication and edited by the editorial office at their discretion.

Erratum

In 29.9 (page 446) in an article entitled "Transformation of Fibrolamellar Carcinoma to Common Hepatocellular Carcinoma in the Recurrent Lesions of the Rectum and the Residual Liver: a Case Report" by Hiroshi Yamamoto, et al., Figure 1 was in the position of Figure 3 and Figure 3 was in the position of Figure 1. The figure legends were correct.