Speakers

Speech Title : Medical oncology Palliative medicine

Kunihiko Ishitani, MD, PhD President of Higashi Sapporo Hospital President of the International Research Society of the Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer (IRS-SCPSC) Kunihiko Ishitani is an MD, PhD with a specialization in medical oncology and palliative medicine. He studied biochemistry as a research fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at AECOM in the 1970s, and immunology as an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Oncology at Sapporo Medical College. In 1983, he established Higashi Sapporo Hospital (240 beds) as the first cancer palliative care hospital in Japan. From the outset, the physicians at Higashi Sapporo Hospital supported his vision and provided both palliative care and cancer treatment as needed. Higashi Sapporo Hospital now cares for approx. 20% of the cancer deaths in Sapporo City (population 1.97 million) each year. At his request, Higashi Sapporo Hospital established a sister-hospital arrangement with Calvary Hospital in New York in 1990, and have been involved in the ongoing exchange of staff. In 1993, Higashi Sapporo Hospital, Calvary Hospital, and MSKCC jointly held the “Hawaii Conference; Cancer Care in the 1990’s Supportive Care Issues”. Based on that experience, he launched the first Japanese Society of Palliative Medicine in Sapporo City in 1996. Since then, he has gone on to organize many palliative care-related conferences in Japan. He organized the first Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer (SCPSC) in 2014 and assumed the position of president of the IRS-SCPSC. Since then, SCPSC has been held every three years to promote the scientific advancement of palliative oncology and psycho-oncology, with a focus on providing lectures by world experts in each field. Each conference has attracted over 1,000 people from over 20 countries. The fifth conference is scheduled for 2026 under an innovative program. Dr. Ishitani also served as Associate Editor of the BMJSPCare from 2018 to 2021 and as Asian Editor from 2022 to 2024.

Speech Title : Advanced diagnostic technologies in breast cancer

Graziella Di Grezia, MD, PhD, is a Tenure Track Researcher in Radiology (SSD MED/22) at Link Campus University of Rome. She obtained the National Scientific Qualification as Associate Professor in Diagnostic Imaging, Radiotherapy, and Neuroradiology (SSD 06/I1) in 2025. She holds a PhD in Pharmacological Sciences and Clinical and Experimental Medicine and a specialization in Radiodiagnostics, both from the Second University of Naples, where she also earned her Medical Degree with highest honors. Additionally, she completed a Second-Level Master’s in Senological Imaging and Intervention at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and a Management Training Course for Healthcare Directors. From 2017 to 2024, she served as Permanent Medical Director in Radiology at PO “G. Criscuoli” Sant’Angelo dei Lombardi (ASL Avellino), where she led mammographic screening programs and the Senological Diagnostics Unit. She has also held appointments at IRCCS “G. Pascale” Naples and various ASL units across Campania. Her academic experience includes lecturing and teaching appointments at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” and the University of Naples “L. Vanvitelli.”