PREFACE

This report summarizes activities of the United States-Japan Cooperative Cancer Research Program for Japanese Fiscal Year 1979, the period between April 1, 1979 and March 31, 1980.
Following the very successful conclusion of the first five-year period, the US-Japan Cooperative Cancer Research Program entered on the second five-year period in April 1979, with the substantial restructuring of the Program intended for greater flexibility in operation to meet the needs of the changing interests and new research areas emerging in the recent progress of cancer research. The structure and objectives of the Second Five-Year Plan are explained in detail on pages 93-95 of this report.
The most important modification is the consolidation of the previous eleven areas of cooperation into four major areas, namely,1) Etiology 2) Biology and Diagnosis, 3) Treatment, and 4) Interdisciplinary Program and Coordination. The Interdisciplinary Program and Coordination Area is intended to serve the functions of general coordination of other three areas, consideration of new programs of scientific merit facilitation of interdisciplinary programs including those on organ sites, and sponsoring of interdisciplinary meetings.
Each area of cooperation has two Program Coordinators, one appointed by each implementing agency. They are assisted by a number of Principal Advisors of their choice in planning and carrying out program activities in their own areas. A list of US/Japan Coordinators and Principal Advisors for 1979-80 appears on pages 110-112.
A number of areas of special interest were also identified for each major program area so as to indicate priority in the implementation of cooperative activities between the two countries, with the understanding that they may change during the course of five years, depending upon scientific opportunity and new knowledge. They are as follows:

In place of the previous Joint Annual Meeting, where all the coordinators of the eleven areas of cooperation participated, a new Joint Steering Committee consisting of the Program Coordinators of the four major areas and the representatives of the implementing agencies meets once every year to discuss policy matters, annual program activities to be supported, coordination among the program areas, evaluation and reporting, etc. The First new Joint Steering Committee Meeting was held in San Francisco on May 24-25, 1979. A record of the meeting is included as Appendix.
During the first year of the second five-year period, 10 seminars were held, 13 American and 11 Japanese scientists were exchanged and 2 materials were exchanged. The breakdown by areas is shown in the following table.