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Nagahiro Saijo, Preface for JCOG Review Series, Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, Volume 41, Issue 10, October 2011, Page 1155, https://doi.org/10.1093/jjco/hyr127
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JCOG (Japan Clinical Oncology Group) was started in 1990 and is the only governmental clinical trial group in Japan. The ultimate purpose of JCOG is to establish gold standard therapies for each tumor type based on scientifically and ethically scheduled investigator-initiated clinical trials. JCOG is composed of various committees for auditing and management, a data center and clinical study groups. The steering committee meeting is held four times a year and decides the missions, principles and policies of JCOG, the exchange of JCOG members and the approval of practical protocols for clinical trials. JCOG has 15 study groups and about 170 member institutions and hospitals. The number of nominated institutions is limited to keep high quality of JCOG. Inactive institutions have been replaced with other institutions by the steering committee. The number of patients accrued for each clinical trial is influenced by the number of active protocols in each trial group. Some groups are very active, while others have not yet completed any trials. JCOG conducts only investigator-initiated trials and so far has not been involved in any IND (Investigational New Drug) trials. Because JCOG does not receive any funding from pharmaceutical companies, the data are not biased by conflicts of interest. Since 1978, JCOG has conducted 216 clinical trials, the majority of which were Phase III trials. The results have been presented at regional and international scientific meetings and have been reported in mainly English language journals as original articles. Some have been published in journals with high impact factors, such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
