Molecular pathogenesis of leukemia and leukemic stem cells (LSCs)

Excerpt

The 79th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Hematology (JSH) was held over a 3-day period from Friday, October 20 to Sunday, October 22, 2017. This meeting was the first time in 18 years that the congress was held in Tokyo. Recent years have seen dramatic advances in hematology. Advances in basic research, mainly molecular biology and stem cell research, have enabled the identification of the molecular pathogenesis of leukemia, and the introduction of new therapeutic methods based on these discoveries has greatly transformed the clinical management of leukemia. As a president of the annual meeting, I selected “Innovation and Creation: Advances in Hematology for the Next Generation” as the theme of the congress. “Innovation and Creation” are important topics that are now required of us in studying the development of hematology. In addition, internationalization and the focus on the young generation have been the most important missions of the JSH. Therefore, along with this theme, I organized a Presidential Symposium with the title “Young Japanese Hematologists in the World: Molecular Pathogenesis of Leukemia and Leukemic Stem Cells (LSCs)”; in this symposium, five young Japanese researchers who are active on the global stage, individuals who serve as principal investigators (PIs) with their own laboratories discussed the molecular pathogenesis of leukemia and leukemic stem cells. I am sure that these enthusiastic presentations by successful young researchers from the global front lines echoed in the hearts of the younger generation in Japan. To commemorate this exciting symposium, I invited four speakers from congress to review their topics in the session of the “Progress in Hematology” in this issue of the International Journal of Hematology (IJH). …