Advancing Japan–UK Collaboration in Children and Young People’s Cancer Research: Highlights from Day 2 at the NCC Japan

in Japanese

On February 23.

The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) jointly hosted a symposium in Tokyo to strengthen Japan–UK collaboration in children and young people’s (CYP) cancer research. As part of this program, the participants visited the National Cancer Center Japan (NCCJ) on February 24.

The day opened with thematic breakout sessions, where experts from both countries discussed challenges and research opportunities across brain cancer, lymphoma, hematology, hereditary cancer, nursing/supportive care, and clinical pharmacology.  

Then, the lecture part was started with the opening remarks by Dr. Daisuke Tomizawa (Chief, Division of Leukemia and Lymphoma, Children’s Cancer Center, National Center for Child Health and Development), followed by keynote lectures delivered by Dr. Katsuyoshi Koh (Chair, Japan Children’s Cancer Group (JCCG)) on Japan’s collaborative clinical research, and Dr. Ayumu Arakawa (Chief, Department of Pediatric Oncology, NCC Hospital) on trial initiatives and international cooperation.

In the afternoon, a laboratory tour at the NCC Research Institute (NCCRI) was offered to the participants from the UK, followed by an introductory session delivered by Dr. Wakako Toga (Deputy Director, NCCRI), Dr. Takashi Kohno (Director, Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics (C-CAT)), Dr. Yasushi Yatabe (Chief, Biobank and Tissue Resources, NCCRI) and Dr. Kouya Shiraishi (Chief, Clinical Genomics, NCCRI). The presentations introduced NCCJ’s precision medicine infrastructure, including C-CAT, the NCC Biobank, and clinical genomics programs.

The visit concluded with a Q&A session and reaffirmed the commitment to advancing joint Japan–UK research to improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer.