Dr. Shitara was awarded the 5th Japan Research Front Award

May 23, 2024
In Japanese

Dr. Kohei Shitara of National Cancer Center Hospital East was awarded the '5th Japan Research Front Award', announced by Clarivate on May 22, 2024.

The Japan Research Front Award identifies advanced research fields that are expected to develop dramatically in the future, by analyzing the top 1% of most highly cited papers in 22 academic fields classified by Clarivate that are cited (co-cited) together with papers published later in the field. Thus, Clarivate selected the leading research areas and winners.

Dr. Kohei Shitara

Awarded Research : The clinical development of immune checkpoint inhibitors for gastric cancer
Chief - Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Hospital East
Staff physician - Department of Experimental Therapeutics, Hospital East
Staff physician - Division of Experimental Therapeutics (Kashiwa), EPOC (Exploratory Oncology Research & Clinical Trial Center)

Dr. Shitara has been actively engaged in clinical research for the development of novel therapies for gastrointestinal cancers. In particular, he has reported the results of pivotal clinical trials of new agents for gastric cancer in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Nature, Lancet Oncology, etc. as the first author or corresponding author, and these resulted in the approval of four new drugs (trastuzumab deruxtecan, nivolumab, and FTD/TPI, Zolbetuximab) for gastric cancer. He has also led many investigator-initiated clinical trials including first-in-human studies or trials for novel combination therapies. He has also been involved in translational research with collaborators overseas. As an international coordinating investigator, he is leading six global studies, including clinical trials investigating the combination of immunotherapy and molecular targeting based on the results of an investigator-initiated clinical trial and a global trial of a new agent for HER2 and claudin 18.2. On this occasion, Dr. Shitara received the Japan Research Front Award for his contributions on the clinical development of immune checkpoint inhibitors for gastric cancer.