Meeting report: Current cancer perspectives from the 9th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Medical Oncology.

The purposes of Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Medical Oncology (JSMO) are to provide a scientific forum among scientists and oncologist, and to bridge research findings from the molecular to clinical application. Cancer treatments can immediately benefit from all areas of oncology: the discovery and clinical application of biomarkers; development of more personalized anticancer therapy including molecular targeted agents; recent findings from clinical trials; and strategies for overcoming drug resistance. International sessions at the 9th Annual Meeting of the JSMO, held in Yokohama, Japan from July 21 to 23, 2011 addressed these issues. The meeting also held a joint symposium with the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Due to space constraints this report will highlight only topics related to thoracic cancer, including controversies in the treatment of advanced cancer, thoracic-related cancer, such as lung cancer and esophageal carcinoma, and biomarkers.