Hironori Kaneko, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S.
Professor, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine,
Toho University

It is a great pleasure to serve as the head of the International Association of Surgeons, Gastroenterologists, and Oncologists (IASGO) Continuing Medical Education: Advanced Post-Graduate Course to be held in Yokohama city on June 7th, 2017.
The local organizing committee is planning to provide keynote lectures on the latest information and advanced knowledge. If the IASGO is to flourish it must extend its roots across the globe and become an international organization. We must go global as quickly as possible so our surgeons can continue to grow professionally and contribute to education on gastrointestinal disease around the world.

We hope this IASGO CME: Advanced Post-Graduate Course in Yokohama 2017 will inspire doctors who are in leadership positions to share the spirit, joy and challenging but rewarding experience of being a surgeon and pass on the art and science of gastrointestinal surgery to today's young doctors. This meeting has always been a source of lively discussions and we look forward to this year's meeting continuing in that tradition.

While this meeting provides us with a forum for handing down well established gastroenterology and knowledge of oncology. It opens a window onto the world from which we can look at the most recently introduced treatment procedures from across the globe that are helping to improve patients' prognosis and quality of life.

The IASGO CME: Advanced Post-Graduate Course will be held in Yokohama, a famous waterfront destination and one of Japan's oldest international ports. Offering the perfect environment to balance serious academic work with relaxation, it's a place where people can get together and wind down as they enjoy the cool sea breeze blowing over Yokohama Bay.

We look forward to receiving your attendance, your abstract submissions and seeing you at Yokohama.