Message from the President
President of The International Research Society of the SCPSC
President, Higashi Sapporo Hospital
My warmest thanks to BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care (BMJSPCare)!
−On finishing my terms as Associate Editor and Asian Editor−
On August 15, 2018, I unexpectedly received an email from Dr. Declan Walsh, Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of BMJSPCare, inviting me to become an Associate Editor (AE). The term of the appointment was three years, and the position could not be held in conjunction with that of an editor at another journal. I was asked to respond to the request by August 31st, including my resume if I accepted. It was a real bolt from the blue. I had had some experience with reviewing papers, but I had no idea what the AE position entailed. Moreover, this was a request from a journal affiliated with BMJ, one of the world's four major medical journals. However, I mustered up my courage and responded that I would accept the invitation.
Few of the AEs associated with the four major medical journals are based in Asia, and this was just the second case involving a Japanese doctor. I had just completed the various procedures and struggled to come to grips with Scholar One Manuscripts (a system for managing submissions and peer reviews in global academic journals), when I received a request to review the first manuscript in September. The manuscript dealt with education in palliative care. Fortunately, this was an area of interest to me, so selecting reviewers was relatively easy. I submitted the results of the peer review by multiple reviewers along with my opinion as an AE as to whether the paper should be accepted or rejected to Dr. Walsh, the EiC. Thereafter, requests for review began to come in one after another. Over the three years to August 2021, I reviewed a total of 148 manuscripts, covering a very wide range of subjects, from general palliative care to psycho-oncology, medical oncology and surgery, medical sociology, philosophy and ethics, and, occasionally, religion. I learned a great deal from the review process, and I would like to express my gratitude to the BMJSPCare and Dr. Walsh for the opportunity to take on this work. I also received help from many friends during the review process. However, as the number of reviews requested was large and the range of subjects broad, I read through the most recent papers published on the topic at hand and directly asked the corresponding authors of the best papers to review them, regardless of not having met them personally. It has been customary for relatively young researchers to be selected for peer review. However, with onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, young medical professionals became very busy and was difficult to select reviewers. Through this process, I was able to build strong relationships with the reviewers, and I remain in contact with them today. This is the second thing for which I am grateful.
Manuscripts were submitted from all over the world, excluding Russia. Generally, research on similar themes in different countries or regions is discouraged unless it can become a universal model applicable globally. My wish is for great importance to be placed on fundamental papers in the natural sciences and humanities. I believe that Dr. Walsh and the BMJSPCare headquarters share this notion. Since 2014, I have been organizing the Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer (SCPSC). It is also known as the "Olympics of palliative care research," and is recognized worldwide as a place where many prominent researchers discuss the latest topics in a non-competitive manner. We have also been given permission to make BMJSPCare the official journal of SCPSC. This is the third and greatest thing for which I would like to express my deepest gratitude.
My wife was happy that my three-year term as AE ended in August 2021, as she was somewhat concerned with my lack of sleep. Dr. Walsh tried to persuade me to stay, but I told him it would be difficult to change my mind, and he said he would consider a different position. The following April, in 2022, he asked me to return as Asian editor. The term of my appointment was for two years, until May 8, 2024, and I was in charge of consulting on the future of the BMJSPCare and reviewing eight manuscripts. Further, the SCPSC newsletter has been posted on the BMJSPCare Blog on a fairly regular basis. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the BMJSPCare Headquarters, Dr. Walsh, and the BMJSPCare Blog editorial team.
My six-year relationship with BMJSPCare has been the culmination of my "life in cancer palliative care." I look forward to building and maintaining this relationship as it continues to grow.
Topics
Introducing groundbreaking medical research papers
JAMA Oncology January 4, 2024
Immunotherapy Initiation at the End of Life in Patients with Metastatic Cancer in the US
Daniel M. Kerekes. MD. MHS et al
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/article-abstract/2813581
PAIN 165(4):725-726, April 2024
Immunotherapy, a new approach for the treatment of human pain
Diana J. Goode
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003107
Journal of Clinical Oncology May15, 2024
Palliative Care for Patients With Cancer: ASCO Guideline Update
Justin J. Sanders. MD.MSc et al
https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.24.00542
JAMA June 2, 2024
Stepped Palliative Care for Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer A Randomized Clinical Trial
Jennifer S. Temel. MD et al
jama.doi:10.1001/jama.2024
ESMO OPEN June 2024
Communication and support of patients and caregivers in chronic cancer care: ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline
Friedrich Stiefel MD et al
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esmoop.2024.103496
Member's News
Welcoming our latest addition to the Board of Directors
Daisuke Takahari
Professor, Medical Oncology Clinical Medicine Department of Internal Medicine Graduate School of Medicine / School of Medicine Faculty of Medicine,Gunma University
Chairman of Tumor Center, Cancer Genome Center and Palliative care Center. Gunma University Hospital
Member’s News continued
Introduction to Prof.Frank Brescia's Latest Medical Book
As Good As It Gets: The Evolving Thoughts of a Deathwatcher – 11 June 2024
by Frank J Brescia (Author)
We sincerely hope that many of you will take the opportunity to read this book.
It is available for purchase on Amazon.
Thrilling News: A Joyous Announcement!
BMJ SPCare (Please click)
May13, 2024. The Spring issue of the SCPSC Newsletter was published on the BMJSPCare blog
BMJ SPCare (Please click)
Feature article
EAPC 2024 13th World Research Congress (13th Research Conference of the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC) ) 〜 A conversation with Dr. Ishitani on his participation in the 13th World Research Congress of the EAPC.
Dr. Kunihiko Ishitani, the president of our society, participated in the EAPC World Research Congress which, unlike the annual EAPC World Congress, is held every two years. This year's 13th conference was held in Barcelona, and various important topics were discussed over four days from May 16th, 2024 (a pre-meeting was held on the 15th) to the 18th.
According to Dr. Ishitani, the World Congress sometimes attracts as many as several thousand participants and has something of a festival-like atmosphere. However, this year's international research conference was limited to 1,000 people, while the 11th and 12th conferences were held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the 2018 World Research Congress in Bern, Dr. Ishitani was able to attend with his close friend, Prof. Stiefel from Switzerland, and had the opportunity to renew old friendships with his friends, Prof. Kaasa and Prof. Caraceni. At that time, Dr. Leblank was honoured with an award as a young researcher. The EAPC, as a society, takes the initiative in promoting palliative care around the world, and Dr. Ishitani is a member of this society.
This year's 13th conference was held to honor the achievements of Prof. Xavier Gomez Batiste of Barcelona, a pioneer in palliative care, and a Cicely Saunders Award lecture was planned as part of the opening ceremony. According to Dr. Ishitani, one of the reasons he participated in this conference was that one of the organizers was Prof. Luc Deliens from Belgium, and he had planned to meet with him to discuss the symposium on euthanasia at the SCPSC-2026 (5th Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer-2026 ), which we are hosting. Prof. Deliens also gave a talk on the topic of euthanasia at SCPSC-2014, and has been asked to organize and chair the symposium on euthanasia in 2026. The second reason was that several topics on AI/ML were planned, and Dr. Ishitani wanted to explore the suitability of organizing an AI/ML symposium at SCPSC-2026.
The conference was well organized with plenary thematic sessions and oral abstract sessions, poster presentations, (both of which are difficult to adopt), etc., at the main and other venues. According to Dr. Ishitani, the AI-related oral sessions after the opening ceremony on the first day were similar to the presentation by Dr. Strand (Mayo Clinic) at SCPSC-2024, which noted that AI contributes to determining appropriate palliative care interventions in various situations. In the plenary session on the second day, Dr. David Casarett from the US gave a talk titled "AI and Palliative Care," which provided a general overview on AI and its usefulness for palliative care. In the following session, Atsushi Hamano from the University of Tsukuba gave a presentation on opioid-induced constipation medication, and was praised for his courage in dealing with the topic. Next, Dr. Chambaere from Prof. Deliens' laboratory and Dr. Gamondi from Switzerland gave talks on euthanasia. During the networking and poster viewing session that day, Dr. Ishitani met with Prof. Deliens and others to explain the organizers' intentions regarding the SCPSC-2026 symposium on euthanasia. Prof. Deliens said that he would recommend those two speakers to SCPSC-2026, and that they would send him a proposal for the project.
In the oral presentation on symptom management in the afternoon, Dr. Clark from the UK, who is also a director of the SCPSC, gave a unique presentation titled “ Programme theory for breathlessness self-management in India.” In the plenary session on the final day, a very important discussion was held on the cost-effectiveness of palliative care. Although it varies according to each country's level of development and disease, this topic has been identified as a major issue for the future. In the last session of the third day, a forum for young researchers was held, and Dr. Yang from Singapore, a director of the SCPSC, gave a speech in response to her EAPC Researcher Award, which was much appreciated by all. The overall impression was that there was a sense of generational change, with Prof. Deliens, Dr. Caraceni, Dr. Fallon, and Dr. Higginson taking leading positions.
Dr. Ishitani also had a friendly chat with Prof. Sarah Dauchy and her group, whom he had planned to meet in Paris. As the conference and accommodation were in the same hotel, Dr. Ishitani was unable to do much sightseeing, but he was able to visit a paella restaurant, L’Arrosseria DeSantz, in the downtown area (a 10-minute walk away) that was recommended him by a hotel employee. He was able to enjoy dinner there on three nights, which he says made his stay in Barcelona a memorable one.
After listening to Dr. Ishitani's comments, I felt that the 13th EAPC International Conference has shown the direction for the future development of palliative care, and while there is a sense of a generational change, the presence of these leading figures is a source of hope for supporting the future of palliative care. Thank you, Dr. Ishitani.
Dr.Joseph Clark
Dr.Grace Yang
Prof. Sarah Dauchy(Leftmost photo)
History
Contribution to the SCPSC Newsletter
Frank J. Brescia, MD, M.A., FACP
Professor of Medicine
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
I first met Dr. Kunihiko Ishitani sometime in the late 1980s. As I remember, he initiated a meeting with us at Calvary Hospital in New York where I had been the Medical Director at the time . There was interest by him to develop and grow an educational and clinical relationship with our hospital and Higashi Sapporo Hospital. Our staff at Calvary had recently developed a similar program with Georgetown University giving a summer clinical clerkship to Ph.D. candidates in philosophy and medical ethics. However, this would be an international endeavor. It would be an exchange program. Japanese physicians and nurses would live in New York and observe how and learn why we did things at our institution. In return, we were invited to come to Japan annually to give lectures, have small group discussions, and make rounds with the staff at Higashi Sapporo Hospital. My first visit was in June 1988. These were extremely memorable visits filled with daily activities both educational and many social as well. My daughter, Monica, ten-years old at the time, made the trip with me.
Calvary Hospital had a long history of treating people dying of cancer dating back to the beginning of the last century, when nine women in lower Manhattan began caring for destitute women with terminal diseases. In December 1980, I became the Medical Director at the new 200-bed hospital. It had a full-time medical staff and an excellent nursing department. The staff and organization prided themselves on the superb care they delivered. There was an internal struggle to balance maintaining this reputation while protecting patients from undue research intervention and too much student interference.
Dr. Ishitani was the perfect person to present the case for a new partnership between our two distinct institutions. He managed the financial concerns for those participating, i.e., living, housing and food concerns, and we would provide the time and personnel to create an educational arena worth everyone’s time, effort, and expense. The experience was enriched with input from physicians like Dr. Russel Portenoy and others at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, which was across the street from Calvary. Indeed, it worked – and it worked well enough to have kept the relationship going these nearly forty years.
I left Calvary Hospital in 1993 – it obviously didn’t need me to make it work. The credit for success goes to the talents and intellect of Dr. Ishitani: he has credibility – he says what he means and does what needs to be done. He has qualities of honesty and loyalty with a remarkable forward sense of vision. His administrative talents speak for themselves. Stuff just gets done.
My visits to Japan were always filled with wonder. There was always openness to learning as much as possible and curiosity as to how and why something was done. It was so rewarding to teach students who hungered to learn. With it all, we learned much from each other despite the cultural differences, language barriers (mainly mine) and different ways to see our world in Palliative Medicine.
Dr. Ishitani received the Annie Blount-Storrs Award from Calvary Hospital in the fall of 1991. A celebration was had at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. I believe at this party, he suggested to me above the noise, that we have a joint international conference. I suggested Hawaii. This simple exchange led to the Hawaii Conference: Cancer Care in the 1990’s Supportive Care Issues which was held in 1993. This was a three-and half-day meeting co-sponsored by Higashi Sapporo Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Calvary Hospital. Sixty pharmaceutical companies supported this meeting featuring speakers from around the world. Be careful, if you are having a late-night drink with this man – you may be headed for lots of work, not to mention he can drink you under the table, but you will also be rewarded with great deal of joy and accomplishment if you have the opportunity to work with him and learn from him.
I am so grateful for my friendship all these years. My daughter, Monica, remembers vividly the warmth and generosity of Dr. Ishitani and his team for the then ten-year old girl. Twenty years later, at age 30, Monica made the trip with me again to Japan and gave a brief talk at the conference about her fond recollections of that earlier visit. I am thankful for my memories and affection and long friendship. I am thankful for his leadership. It can only get better.
Announcement from the SCPSC Team
We extend my warmest regards to you all.
We are pleased to announce that the SCPSC Newsletter will now be published regularly on the BMJSPCare blog. In light of this delightful news, we are committed to redoubling our efforts. We look forward to your continued support.
