Preface to topic 'international collaboration to control cholangiocarcinoma'

摘要

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is one of the representative cancers refractory to any therapeutic approach. The incidence of CCA is highest in the northeastern part of Thailand, where chronic inflammation caused by liver fluke (Opisthorchis viverrini) infection is a major etiologic factor. The incidence of CCA is also increasing in other countries, including Japan. Recently, the occurrence of CCA triggered by chemical agents among offset color proof-printing workers has been reported in Osaka, Japan, indicating that CCA is a serious problem not only in clinical situations but also from the view point of public health. Japanese scientists have been involved in the study on CCA in the northeastern part of Thailand in collaboration with the scientists in Thailand since the early 1980s through financial support of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.