Background of the Asian Pacific Topic Conference (APTC) and Helicobacter pylori meetings in the Asia Pacific region

Asian Pacific Topic Conference Meetings

The concept of APAGE monothematic meetings was mooted by Professor KM Fock, past-president of the APAGE in 2009. Following discussions with Professor Yutaka Atomi, the President of the Japan Society of Gastroenterology (JSGE) at that time, a decision was made to organize a series of monothematic meetings under the banner of APAGE-JSGE and named Asian Pacific Topic Conference (APTC). The JSGE generously agreed to underwrite the first meeting in 2010 and a third meeting in 2012 with a second APTC meeting held in another Asian Pacific member country in the intervening year. The purpose of the monothematic meetings is to provide an opportunity for the membership and GI fraternity in the Asian Pacific region to meet, deliberate and exchange scientific ideas on a specific topic in depth.

The first such meeting on “Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders” was held on 26-27 November 2010 in Shiba Park Hotel, Tokyo, Japan organized by Professor Soichi Miura and under the chairpersonship of Professor Kentaro Sugano, president of the JSGE. There were invited lectures and free papers in the form of poster presentations and participants came from twelve APAGE member countries. Selected presentations were published in a supplement of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The 1st APTC was a highly successful meeting.

This meeting on Helicobacter pylori with the theme “Translating Science into Clinical Medicine: H.pylori infection in Asia-Pacific in the New Millennium” is timely as it has been more than 5 years since a focused meeting on the subject was held in the region.

A third monothematic meeting will be held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia under the chairpersonship of Professor Peter Gibson in collaboration with the Gastroenterological Society of Australia and will be held in April 2012 and will focus on inflammatory bowel disease. The meeting is entitled “IBD All Stars” and details of the meeting will be posted on the APAGE website shortly.

Helicobacter pylori Meetings in Asia Pacific

The first focused meeting on Helicobacter pylori was organised in 1996 and was called the Western Pacific meeting on Helicobacter. The brainchild of Professors Stuart Hazell and Dr Hazel Mitchell of the University of New South Wales, the first meeting was held in Guangzhou, China and was organised by Professor PJ Hu. Since then this meeting has been held in several places very successfully including in Kota Kinabalu, Bali, Perth, Kobe and Bangkok.

This monothematic meeting is being held in recognition of the tremendous amount of science still existing in the subject which can and should be translated into clinical medicine. Excellent publications have emanated from the Asian Pacific region in various aspects of H.pylori infection. A direct and most serious consequence of the infection- gastric cancer continues to be major Asian Pacific health issue. This meeting will discuss on issues related to this cancer as well as strategies to overcome it and brings together members of the Asian Pacific Working Party on Gastric Cancer and the Asian Pacific Digestive Oncology group.

Appendix: List of Western Pacific Meetings on Helicobacter pylori