Events

The ninth Asian Pacific Topic Conference (APTC) was held at Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo in Tokyo on April 20th, 2018. Co-organized by the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology (JSGE) and the Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE), it was an important project for APAGE from the standpoint of research and education programs promoting the exchange of gastroenterology knowledge and skills in the Asia-Pacific Region and encouraging mutual friendship.

APTC is a monothematic scientific conference focusing each time on one important topic related to digestive diseases. The first APTC kickoff meeting was held in Tokyo in November 2010, focusing on the topic of functional gastrointestinal disorders. It is held annually in one of the APAGE member countries, with Japan serving as the host every other year, and in May 2017, the eighth APTC was held in Bali, Indonesia, with good success.

This year, we focused on the theme of "Up-to-date of colorectal cancer", which is a recent topic in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology. In recent years, pathogenesis has been elucidated on genetics and risk factors, and advance in diagnosis and treatment is remarkable, contributing to improving disease characterization and outcomes. From these basic and clinical viewpoints, a variety of aspects were discussed.

There were about 127 participants in the 9th APTC meeting. The conference started with opening remarks by Dr. Kazuichi Okazaki, an adviser of JSGE Asian-Liaison Committee. There were 18 plenary lectures by distinguished invited faculties representing Asian-Pacific societies. The morning sessions focused on pathogenesis from the viewpoint of genetics and risk factors. These plenary lectures included recent data on genetic analysis of colon cancer and hereditary disease and multicenter retrospective study, and the current situation in the speakers' countries.

After lunch, a commemorative photograph was taken in which all the participants were invited.

The afternoon sessions focused on diagnosis and treatment for colon cancer, and nine faculties delivered plenary lectures as representatives of the societies. Interestingly, the difference of screening system in Japan, Taiwan and Korea became clear, contributing to possibly improving the system in Asian –Pacific countries and discovering colon cancer at an early stage. Furthermore, the advance of treatment including endoscopy, chemotherapy and surgery in Asian-Pacific Region was remarkable, and, in near future, better treatment outcomes will be expected.

On April 20, Poster Exhibition by 18 active researchers who were recommended by their faculties was held. The distinguished best poster awards were given to the three best posters presentations: Dr. Eiichiro Yamamoto (Japan), Dr. Ka-Ching Cheung (Hong Kong) and Dr. Vicki Whitehall (Australia).

The meeting ended with closing remarks from Dr. Kentaro Sugano, APAGE president.

The conference was good success. There were a lot of fruitful discussions on the important and interesting theme during the one-day meeting. We were able to exchange the most up-to-date information, and felt the conference was very helpful in providing an opportunity to deepen friendships among specialists in different fields, including gastroenterologists, hepatologists, physiologists and surgeons. It also played a key role in disseminating new valuable information to the world on these important issues. All participants enjoyed a friendly atmosphere and a beautiful spring in Japan as well.

Written by Keiichi Kubota, MD Chairman of 9th APTC JSGE Asian Liaison Committee Chairman