Preface

The National Hospital Organization (NHO) of Japan was rebuilt from the former National Hospitals of Japan 10 years ago in 2004. At almost the same time, Dr. Kiyomi Taniyama obtained his position as the director of the clinical research institute affiliated with the NHO Kure Medical Center and Chugoku Cancer Center (KMCCCC), Kure, Japan. Over the last decade, he has organized his research institute well and obtained many good results with the collaboration of the basic and translational research staff. Because the systems and equipment are often upgraded to keep pace with the latest trends in medicine, remarkable medical advances have been achieved during the last decade in our hospital, which is representative of the progress made in modern medicine, not only in Japan, but also around the world.

On June 30, 2014, Dr. Wataru Kamiike, is going to retire from the president of NHOKMCCCC that is one of the top five hospitals among the 143 NHO hospitals in Japan. Therefore, July in 2014 is a good time to celebrate Dr. Taniyama’s ten-year history as the director of clinical research center and promotion to the next president, as well as the retirement of Dr. Kamiike from the president. Fundamentally, this eBook will be a memorable token of this celebration, but it also represents the latest trends in modern medicine, covering a wide range of fields. As previously mentioned, this eBook will cover basic science, translational research, and modern medicine in relation to both diagnosis and treatment. This eBook will be full of reviews of cutting edge therapies and diagnostic techniques related to the fields of the authors, along with original articles with the latest data obtained by the authors.