Preface

Takeo Fukushima

This special issue of ANTICANCER RESEARCH presents the Proceedings of the 21st Annual Meeting of the Society of Biotherapeutic Approaches. It is our great pleasure to introduce this issue expressing my sincere gratitude to the Editors of Anticancer Research for kindly accepting and publishing the proceedings of our regional meeting in Japan in ANTICANCER RESEARCH.

The 21st meeting was held in Fukuoka, Japan on December 2, 2017, chaired by Prof. Shin'ichiro Yasunaga, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan and Dr. Takashi Morisaki, Fukuoka Cancer General Clinic, Fukuoka, Japan. One of the highlights in this conference was the special lecture on “Therapeutic potential of onco-immunotherapy: care or cure?” presented by Prof. Yoshikazu Yonemitsu, R&D Laboratory for Innovative Biotherapeutics Science, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. In addition, there were four workshops and many oral presentations on a wide range of basic and clinical topics, offering impressive advances in this field.

The main aims of our Society are to facilitate good communication between basic researchers and clinicians, and to perform clinical trials with adequate informed consent in an appropriate and professional manner. These aspects include important issues for the progress of biotherapy as well as for medicine in general. It is our sincere hope that these Proceedings will contribute to further progress in the field of biotherapy and that our members will continue to foster the aims of our Society.