Commemorating the Publication of Volume 30 of the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology: Where are We Heading?

Abstract

Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology (JJCO) made its first appearance in January 1971, 29 years ago. In the very first issue, a photo of Dr Masaru Kuru is printed with a brief note about his contribution to the foundation of the Journal. Dr Kuru was the first Director of the National Cancer Center (NCC) Hospital and the third President of NCC, who is considered to have initiated clinical practice and its research on cancer at the NCC. Unfortunately, Dr Kuru had passed away before publication of the first issue. However, it was he who initiated the publication of JJCO with a strong belief that the journal would become an important means of introducing significant achievements of Japanese researchers and clinicians in the field of clinical oncology to the world. Some people wondered, of course, if there was any sense in publishing an English language journal on clinical oncology in Japan. There were already several journals in Europe and in the USA to which Japanese clinical oncologists could send their papers. However, Dr Kuru and some staff of the NCC emphasized the importance of the first English journal on this subject from Japan and their aspiration was embodied by the support of staff of the NCC Hospital and some other scientists. The late Dr Kempo Tsukamoto, the fourth President of the NCC, carried out the intentions of Dr Kuru and served as the first Editor-in-Chief from 1971 to 1974. In Volume 1 of JJCO, there can be found an article on the double-contrast technique in detecting and making a diagnosis of early gastric cancer (1). There is no doubt that the development of double-contrast radiography greatly contributed to the efficient detection of early gastric cancer. This example well illustrates that JJCO aimed at publishing experience and knowledge of Japanese oncologists in English so that such information could be shared with the world. Successive Editors and supporting staff endeavored to increase submissions of quality papers not only from the NCC but also from all over Japan. The late Dr Shichiro Ishikawa, the sixth President of the NCC, succeeded Dr Tsukamoto and served as Editor-in-Chief for 15 years from 1971. After being published biannually for the first 10 years, it became quarterly in 1983 and bimonthly in 1991 as the number of submissions increased (2). Dr Takashi Sugimura, the seventh President of the NCC, was the successor to Dr Ishikawa from 1986 and was the Editor until 1995. He made great efforts to accept papers of basic research with relevance to clinical oncology, which helped to expand the scope of the journal and enrich the contents. The gradual increase in the number of submissions might also indicate that Japanese oncologists, who used to consider a ‘Japanese’ journal to be underdeveloped and preferred established English journals, started to recognize it as being fully fledged. The journal became indexed in Current