早期胃癌の10年

Ten Years of Early Gastric Cancer

　早いもので日本内視鏡学会で決めた早期胃癌の定義と分類案が出されてから10年経つ．昭和37年2月の初めにその委員会を開いたという記録が残っているので，筆をとっている今日はちょうど10年目に当る．そしてその間にこの定義・分類の妥当性は一応認容されたと思われる．

　しかし今から考えると随分大胆なことをしたものだと冷汗が出る．しかし大胆なことをしたのはこの案を決めた委員会だけではなく，早期胃癌のまだ何たるかを決めないまま，その全国集計を企てて症例を集められた田坂先生の無鉄砲さにも呆れる．何百例という症例が全国から集ってきてから，さてこれをどうまとめよう，適当な基準を作らないととても集計できない．ひとつ委員会を作って考えて下さい．これがその時委員会のできた発端である．

　Ten swift years have passed since the definition and classification of early gastric cancer were proposed by the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society. The minutes of the society remains that the committee meeting was held early in February, 1962, just ten years ago at the time of this writing. And now I think that their reasonableness has been recognized all over the world.

　On looking back I realize with trepidation what a reckless scheme it was. It was reckless not only on the part of the Committee but on that of Professor Tasaka as well, who had ventured to collect cases of “early” gastric cancer on a national scale without having previously determined how it should be defined. Hundreds of “early cancer” cases were gathered from all over the country, and yet it was impossible to classify them unless some appropriate criteria be established. A committee meeting was urgently requested by all concerned, and that was indeed the origin of the Committee for Early Gastric Cancer.