title: Originality benefit and difficulty of clinical research in the West Japan Lung Cancer Group.
abstract: The West Japan Lung Cancer Study Group (recently renamed the West Japan Thoracic Oncology Group) is a non-government, non-profit regional scientific organization whose objectives are to conduct clinical research and treatment of lung cancer, and to promote lung cancer expertise among thoracic physicians and radiologists in west Japan. Since 1990, a total of 46 institutes have joined and established the rules of a society. Our major interests are phase II and III trials of chemotherapy in lung cancer. We also have participated in activities with the Japan Clinical Oncology Group (JCOG), which is supported by the National Cancer Center in Tokyo. Additionally, we have conducted phase II and III trials with the support of Japanese pharmaceutical companies. This support allows us to conduct reliable, large-scale randomized trials. Our organization's main problems are unrefined data management and few qualified statisticians, due in part to a lack of funding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, National Kinki Central Hospital for Chest Diseases, Nagasone, Sakai, 591-8555, Osaka, Japan. kawahara@kinchu.hosp.go.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawahara
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ariyoshi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukuoka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furuse
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*