Message from the Secretary General

On the expiration of the term of former Secretary General, Dr. Toshiharu Yamaguchi, I assumed this important post in June, 2015. The major tasks during my four-year term are 1) smooth running of the Association, and 2) further development of Associations' scientific activities.

The former includes: a) Amendment of IGCA Constitution, b) Reinforcement of the Council by election, c) Expansion of the membership, and d) Support for the coming congresses. The latter includes: e) Planning of educational seminars, f) Promotion of exchange of physicians and researchers between countries, and g) Launch of new research projects. In order to fulfill these tasks and plans, the membership fee alone is not sufficient and active fund-raising is needed.

The IGCA has now 20-year history. Since the first congress at Kyoto in 1995, the association has gradually expanded its international membership, and the biennial congresses rotating in the three global regions have gathered an increasing number of participants. "Gastric Cancer," official journal published jointly with the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association, obtained the first impact factor of 2.614 in 2010 and has been maintaining the one over 3.5 since 2013. Thus the Association is now expected to play a leading role in clinical and basic research to conquer gastric cancer.

I have a dream that someday, the IGCA congress becomes a place where results of pivotal trials are first presented and global guidelines for gastric cancer treatment are discussed and decided. I look forward to the active participation and strong support of all IGCA members.

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