I am Yosuke Iriguchi of Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer Detection Center. I have been nominated President of the 58th General Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening, which will be held as part of JDDW 2020 in Kobe. It is truly an honor for me to be presiding over this meeting that is rich in tradition. Together with all of the staff at our center, I intend to work earnestly in preparing for the meeting to make it a fruitful one for the future.

The leading cause of death in Japan is malignant neoplasm. About a million people are diagnosed with it each year, and about 370,000 people a year die from it. This means that one in two persons is diagnosed with malignant neoplasm, and one in three die from it. Gastrointestinal cancers make up more than half of the malignant neoplasm. It is urgent to implement measures to control and prevent cancer. Considering that the level of cancer diagnosis and treatment in Japan is exceptionally high even from a global perspective, it is important that we efficiently and accurately detect cancer and ensure that patients are treated. The Basic Cancer Control Plan, issued by the government in 2017, set as targets cancer screening rate of over 50% and detailed follow-up examination rate of over 90%.

Therefore, we need to establish a continuous system of cancer screening, detailed examination, treatment, and observation after treatment. We also need to introduce organized screening with quality control leading up to treatment. These are important not only to reduce mortality, but also to cut down on health care costs. I am keenly aware that this will require all professionals involved in cancer screening to raise awareness about the importance of building a quality control system. In addition, we will also need to promote research on the development and introduction of advanced technology in a constantly changing environment surrounding cancer screening.

Against this backdrop, we have set the main theme of the 58th General Meeting of the Japanese Society of Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening as “Taking on the Challenge of Multiprofessional Cooperation and Quality Control.” Dr. Marie-Beatrice Lauby-Secretan of WHO’s IARC will speak for the Invited Lecture from abroad, and Dr. Tomio Nakayama of the National Cancer Center will deliver the Special Lecture. For the theme sessions, we have chosen as topics “Quality Control of Gastric Cancer X-Ray and Endoscopic Screening” and “Quality Control in Detailed Follow-Up Examination after Colorectal Cancer Screening.” Many other programs will be jointly organized with other JDDW societies. We hope physicians as well as other professionals, including public health nurses involved in cancer screening, radiological technicians, sonographers, clinical technologists, and persons affiliated with local governments and screening facilities, will make presentations at the meeting. Please also look forward to lectures in the sponsored events as we have lined up interesting topics for the lectures.

While maintaining our originality as the Japanese Society of Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening, we will work with the four other member societies of JDDW to make the meeting fruitful. We hope that participation in JDDW will provide an opportunity for the participants to take interest not only in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, but also in gastrointestinal cancer screening that will become increasingly more important in the future. We sincerely hope that many of you will participate and give presentations at JDDW.