On March 15, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) announced that Dr. Yang Han-kwang, Professor of Surgery, was elected the next Secretary General of the International Gastric Cancer Congress (IGCC) 2022. His term of office will be four years from June 2023.
The International Gastric Cancer Association (IGCA), the world’s leading academic organization in the field of gastric cancer, was established in Japan in 1995. The IGCA comprises medical professionals from around the world, including Korea, Japan, China, Europe, and the United States, and hosts international conferences for the advancement of research on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer and carries out academic activities to establish gastric cancer stages, among other activities.
About 1 million people get diagnosed with gastric cancer around the world every year. In Korea, there are about 30,000 new cases of stomach cancer each year, making it one of the most common cancers competing for the No. 1 spot.
Until now, the Secretary General of the IGCA has been selected from among Japanese doctors, and Professor Yang Han-kwang will be the first non-Japanese doctor to take office. This has been unprecedented in the history of the association, and it highlights the fact that the excellence displayed by Korean medical professionals in gastric cancer treatment and research is gaining recognition worldwide.
Professor Yang has extensive experience in performing gastric cancer surgery and has conducted a wide range of studies to develop therapeutic methods, determine international standards for gastric cancer staging, introduce laparoscopic gastric cancer surgery, and more.
He has been invited all over the world to give demonstrations and lectures on gastric cancer surgery, thereby showcasing Korea’s outstanding gastric cancer treatment techniques and research achievements to the world. He has given more than 300 lectures and surgical demonstrations so far.
Nearly 320 foreign medical professionals have paid a visit to watch Dr. Yang’s team perform gastric cancer surgery and gain a better understanding of their clinical and basic research activities and outcomes.
Professor Yang, chairman of the SNU Cancer Hospital, said, “The International Gastric Cancer Association will work more closely with medical professionals in the field of gastric cancer from around the world and actively communicate with patients and their families, in particular. I anticipate that Korean gastric cancer experts with tremendous experience in treating the disease will play a greater role in the IGCA.”
He also shared his plans to “make an effort to share experiences in applying advanced treatment methods as well as resources from Japan and Korea with countries where gastric cancer treatment is relatively underdeveloped by introducing educational programs and so on.”
Professor Yang has served as the Director of the Gastric Cancer Center at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) and as the chief of surgery, and he is currently the deputy head of the Oncology Department. He has also served as the chairman of the board of the Korean Gastric Cancer Association and the Korean Society of Surgical Oncology, and is currently the chairman of the board of the Korean Cancer Association and the chair of the Council of Cancer-related Associations. He is considered one of the leading authorities in the field of cancer in Korea.
