WELCOME

Dear friends and colleagues,

We are delighted to invite you to the 16th Congress of Asia continental branch of International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP Asia 2024) which will be hosted by the National Center for Child Health and Development from 22-25 June, 2024.

The International Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), was founded in 1969 to study and solve problems associated with children and young adults diagnosed with cancer. It is a worldwide society with over 3,000 members that holds an international general meeting every fall. Its Asian branch, SIOP Asia, held its first general meeting in Singapore in 2000 and has held its annual meeting since 2014, helping to improve the quality of pediatric cancer care in the Asian region.

SIOP's goal is to "eliminate the number of children dying from cancer." With the mission to ensure that children and young adults diagnosed with cancer receive the latest treatment and care, SIOP is engaged in a variety of activities around the world. Japanese medical professionals, in particular, are engaged in cutting-edge research and education in the field of pediatric oncology. In addition, the WHO, as part of its Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, is working to increase the global childhood cancer cure rate to 60% by 2030, including developing countries.

The SIOP Asia Congress will be held in Yokohama, Japan, for the first time, under the auspices of the National Center for Child Health and Development, the only national children's hospital in Japan, in cooperation with the Japanese Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (JSPHO), the Japan Children's Cancer Group (JCCG), the Children’s Cancer Association of Japan, and the NPO Magokoro Organization for Childhood Cancer. The theme of the event will be "You raise it up! ", with the message that we should all support pediatric cancer patients together. Through this international conference, we aim to deepen collaboration among researchers in Japan and overseas, to further promote pediatric cancer treatment and research together with pediatric cancer researchers in Asian countries, and to make a significant contribution to the development of medical care in the field of pediatric cancer in Japan and around the world through the results of this conference.

Mr. Teijiro Furukawa, the late chairman of NPO Magokoro Organization for Childhood Cancer, gave me a lot of advice on pediatric cancer treatment, especially on the importance of long-term follow-up, before his death. We are pleased to be hosting this international conference on pediatric oncology because of his support. The SIOP Asia 2024 will focus on long-term follow-up of pediatric cancer survivors, cutting-edge medicine including genomic medicine for pediatric cancer, neuroblastoma, Langerhans cell histiocytosis, and many other pediatric cancers.

We encourage you to fully explore the scientific programme and attend other superb parts of the meeting such as SIOP-CCI conference, APHOG Annual Meeting, and St. Jude Global meeting.