JGOG Japanese Gynecologic Oncology Group

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Welcome to JGOG

Greetings from the President

My name is Aikou Okamoto. I was appointed president of the non-profit Japanese Gynecologic Oncology Group (JGOG) in January 2022.

The non-profit Japanese Gynecologic Oncology Group (JGOG) is a clinical research group that works with major universities and cancer centers throughout the country in an effort to establish the latest and most suitable diagnostic and therapeutic methods for patients with gynecologic malignancies. The JGOG has a long history, having started as a cervical cancer chemotherapy research group established in 1981 by Professor Kiichiro Noda, which developed into a gynecological chemotherapy research group in the following year, 1982. In 2002, we received certification as a non-profit organization (NPO) for gynecology malignancy research, which remains the status of our organization today. During this period, Professor Kiichiro Noda served as a first president for 28 years, until 2008, Professor Kazunori Ochiai was a second president for six years, from 2009 to 2014, Professor Toru Sugiyama was a third president for four years, from 2015 to 2018, and Professor Takayuki Enomoto was a fourth president for three years, from 2019 to 2021. Today, in 2022, we have become a large-scale clinical research group in Japan, with 181 participating institutions and 1046 regular members, publishing many high-quality clinical research papers in leading medical journals including Lancet Oncology and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Recently, with the introduction of molecular-targeted drugs, there has been a major shift in the way clinical studies in the field gynecologic malignancies are conducted, away from the conventional studies focusing on individual organs and towards basket studies (cross-cutting clinical studies of lesions in various organs, with subjects selected based on searches for molecular markers). Under the fourth president Enomoto, the structure of the JGOG was adapted to meet the needs of the coming generation, with a translational research (TR) committee being established as an independent committee to propose and conduct clinical studies using molecular-targeted drugs. In addition, since corporate donations have decreased year by year and the costs required for clinical research will continue to increase, Dr. Enomoto put efforts into preparing our organization to secure constant sources of competitive funding for commissioned clinical research and investigator-initiated trials, and also funding from organizations such as the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). This unified the collective efforts from our members across Japan, and as a result we continue to receive a high level of public funding today. We will continue to maintain our organization to secure constant competitive funding, with the aim of enabling the stable operation of world-class clinical research.

Dr. Toru Sugiyama initiated collaborations with the Gynecologic Cancer Inter-Group (GCIG) and Korean Gynecologic Oncology Group (KGOG) and multiple other Asian countries, and Dr. Enomoto, the previous president of JGOG, carried this initiative forwards, establishing the East Asian Gynecologic Oncology Trial Group (EAGOT). While continuing to pursue the goals of past JGOG presidents, I will strive to make the JGOG an active clinical research group that attracts worldwide interest.

Building on the three pillars of the JGOG listed by Dr. Toru Sugiyama and former JGOG president Dr. Enomoto, “clinical research,” “education,” and “sharing all perspectives,” I will endeavor to develop our clinical research through active international exchange with Asian and Western countries, as part of the newly established EAGOT and outside it, and to provide education to develop human skills, enabling junior members of a new generation to excel at a global level. In order to continue to establish the latest and most suitable diagnostic and therapeutic methods for patients with gynecologic malignancies, the members of JGOG will work together to ensure that we can participate in a large number of international clinical trials. We look forward to your continuing guidance, encouragement and cooperation.

January 2022

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