The 8th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of
Supportive Care in Cancer
Chairperson　Mitsue SAITO
(Professor, Department of Breast Oncology
Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine)

JASCC was founded on the initiative and efforts of Dr. Kazuo Tamura, the first president of JASCC, Dr. Toshiaki Saeki, the current president, and Dr. Keisuke Aiba, in 2015. At the time, they were members of the Committee on Guidelines for the Use of Antiemetic Drugs of the Japan Society of Clinical Oncology. I remember I was thrilled when they kindly shared their idea with me, as I have been a member of Guideline committee for Antiemetic Therapy for the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) since 2010. MASCC was established in 1990 and has been continuously active and well-organized covering 70 countries world-wide. However, Asia`s contribution was limited at the time. As a natural consequence, I started to serve as the chair of the CINV subgroup of JASCC since its inauguration. Around the same time when the JASCC board nominated me to serve as its Chairperson for the 2021 JASCC Congress, the MASCC Annual Congress was held in Washington, D.C.. On that occasion, I proposed to the MASCC leaders to have a future MASCC Annual Congress in Japan knowing that they are interested in holding it in Asia. My lobbying activity turned out to be successful and my dream came true when the first MASCC/JASCC joint meeting was planned to be held in Yokohama in 2021. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the meeting was postponed to 2023.

Since the convention facility in Yokohama was not available in June 2023, we searched for an alternative venue and finally settled on Nara, also known as Japan`s ancient capital. Nara is famous for the Great Buddha Hall which was built a long time ago and served as a powerful center of prayers for peace, prosperity, and protection against epidemics. I really feel the Congress`s first time in Asia is destined to be here in Nara, and it gives a special significance to this event at this place and at this time.

The conference in Nara will be held jointly with MASCC. However, JASCC's unique tradition is maintained, which includes the study group-based unique poster sessions, the Year in Review, an educational seminar to certify specialists in supportive care (this is a new addition), the projects based on collaboration with non-medical disciplines such as medical engineering, and a session to discuss the future of supportive care with our Asian colleagues.

The theme of the conference is: 'Visiting Old. Learning New for Supportive Cancer Care'. We aim to make this a memorable conference truly appropriate to Nara, where we will redefine the attitude that medicine has always aspired to; learning from the old and tradition and adopting modern technology; and it will prepare us to set a new direction for the future. MASCC has agreed to have joint plenary sessions with us. JASCC E-poster presenters who wish to give their presentations in English will have the opportunity to have discussions at the MASCC Congress, and the sections of JASCC and study groups of MASCC will collaborate in planning themes for the oral presentations. I hope all JASCC members will be able to appreciate and take advantage of this unique collaborative arrangement, rather than having concurrent separate sessions. In addition, the MASCC Congress will have the honor of co-hosting the conference with the Science Council of Japan. This became possible through the Cabinet Office recognizing JASCC's efforts to have the MASCC Congress in Japan.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, I am prepared to organize the JASCC Nara Congress in 2023 as the beginning of a new era in which humanity can gather its wisdom and solidify human connections. I am honored to serve as the chairperson of this conference.

I look forward to welcoming you and all the participants from diverse backgrounds who support the main objectives of the 8th Annual Meeting of JASCC.