Although there have been substantial structural changes, with increases in the number of divisions and a significant turnover of scientists and supporting members, the basic and unifying purpose of the establishment of the institute is, obviously, to achieve cancer control by close collaboration with hospitals and all of the scientific disciplines concerned, and by acting as the central core research institute for the promotion of cancer research in Japan. There were two major areas of progress in 1994; one was in the area of molecular oncology, based on advances in molecular biology, and the other was in the areas of information and image analysis, supported by the development of computer science.
In 1966, the Research Institute began publishing annual "Collected Papers," in which all of the articles published by the institute were compiled in book form. As the number of articles rose, the number of pages increased. Since reprints and copies are now readily available, it was decided to discontinue publication of "Collected Papers" after 1992. Reprints of all the articles published every year have been collected and bound as such, and are maintained in the National Cancer Center Library. The first "Annual Report" was published in December 1994 to summarize the research activity of each division and section and to outline our progress to the worldwide scientific community. The first volume was exceptional in that research activity in both 1992 and 1993 was summarized in a single volume together with a list of papers published during both years. The present "Annual Report" summarizes the research activity of the institute in 1994, and the "Annual Report" will be published annually from this 1994 issue. A small booklet, "Selected Papers Published in 1994," in which the titles of 100 representative papers are listed, is also available. The preparation of these publications could not have been achieved without the intense efforts of all of my colleagues at the institute.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the support we have received from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, other governmental organizations, including the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and the Agency for Science and Technology, and private organizations and individuals. I must stress the importance of the support we have received for our research activities from the 2nd Term Comprehensive 10-year Strategy for Cancer Control and Grants-in-Aid from the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan.
June, 1995
Masaaki Terada, M.D.
Director, National Cancer Center Research Institute
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