Ken Kato

Dr Ken Kato is a medical oncologist and the Chief of the Department of Head and Neck, Esophageal Medical Oncology, and Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan (2020-2024). Additionally, he serves as the Chief of the Biobank Translational Research Support Section within the Clinical Research Coordinating Section at the Clinical Research Support Office of the same hospital. Dr Kato’s primary focus lies in chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy for esophageal, esophagogastric and gastric cancers. He has been an active contributor to the Japan Esophageal Oncology Group of the JCOG, which is Japan’s leading clinical trial group for cancer.

The group has spearheaded clinical trials aimed at developing new chemotherapy treatments for metastatic diseases and early-stage esophageal cancer in multimodal therapy settings. As a study coordinator, Dr Kato led the JCOG0502 randomized phase III trial, which compared surgery with chemoradiotherapy for clinical stage I esophageal squamous carcinoma, demonstrating the non-inferiority of chemoradiotherapy compared to surgery. Another significant trial, JCOG1109, evaluated neoadjuvant therapy for resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, revealing that triplet chemotherapy improves survival compared to doublet chemotherapy, thereby offering a new perspective on neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer.

In the arena of new drug development, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors, Dr Kato has played a key role as a steering committee member in several international phase III trials for esophageal cancer, such as ATTRACTION-3, KEYNOTE-590, CheckMate-648, RATIONALE-306, among others.

Furthermore, Dr Kato holds the position of vice-chairperson at the Japan Esophageal Society (JES) and serves as a Director of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus (ISDE). His commitment extends to organizing international conferences in Asia and engaging in public relations activities.