The 30th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association for Metastatic Research
Congress President  Yoshiyuki Fujiwara
Professor, Division of Gastrointestinal and Pediatric Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine

The 30th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association for Metastatic Research will be held at Yonago Convention Center in Yonago City, Tottori Prefecture on July 29 and 30, 2021. It is a great honor to hold the event in the 30th milestone year. I would like to express my deep gratitude to the honor and meritorious members, directors, secretaries, councilors, and members to give me such an opportunity.

Now, the theme of this time is "Overcome Cancer Metastasis in a team: Innovation through Collaboration".  Team medicine is important in cancer (metastasis) treatment. There is also team medicine in the clinical field, but translational research is also a basic and clinical collaboration. Cancer genomic medicine, which was covered by Japanese medical insurance in 2019, is truly a new medicine that combines basic research and clinical research. We are looking for a wide range of presentations from basic research on cancer metastasis to the forefront of more clinical diagnosis and treatment for cancer metastasis. In addition, I would like clinicians to report "cancer metastasis cases of interest" and deepen their interaction with basic researchers at the venue.

In the spring of 2020, the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) that hit the whole world and had a significant impact on our lives. Last year's 29th meeting was scheduled to be held at the Kobe International Conference Center, hosted by Professor Hiroshi Yokozaki of the Department of Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, but unfortunately it was held on paper to prevent the spread of infection. In the 30th session, the situation could be improved, but we will take thorough measures to prevent infection at a wider venue and aim to hold the event normally.

At the end of July, Sanin district is extremely hot, so we recommend cool biz, so please join us without a jacket or tie. There are many places to see and eat around Yonago city, including the scenic Mountain Daisen, Kaike Onsen (Hot spring) surrounded by pine forests overlooking the Sea of Japan, Sakai Port, one of Japan's leading fishing ports, the neighboring national treasure Matsue Castle, and the Adachi Museum of Art which is famous for its Japanese gardens. After a lively discussion at the conference, I hope that you will fully enjoy Tottori's sake, seafood dishes from Sakai Port, and the famous Tottori Wagyu beef and Daisen Dori (Yakitori).

We are looking forward to your participation and presentation.