The Japan Colonic Stent Safe Procedure Research Group has been very active as a research group affiliated with the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society and will complete its term (3 years) of affiliation in February 2015.

However, there have been calls for this group to carry on with their research as well as their information sharing. The group gained approval as the first research body to be affiliated with the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society, and its continued existence has been agreed upon. We look forward to the support of this group as they actively continue to communicate research findings from Japan and to identify and promote safe colonic stenting procedures.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the governing members of the Research Group and all the doctors who serve as research coordinators within the Research Group, as well as everyone from the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society and everyone else concerned in this Research Group.

The new Colonic Stent Safe Procedure Research Group is a research group affiliated with the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.

Because metal stents have not obtained pharmaceutical approval and are not yet covered by Japan’s National Health Insurance system for the treatment of colonic stenosis, clinical research is being conducted at a limited number of institutions, the stents are misappropriated for use as esophageal stents, and procedures are conducted with the use of colonic stents that are individually imported from overseas. A US-manufactured colonic stent finally received pharmaceutical approval in July 2011, and after approval for insurance coverage, the stent became available for use on a national level in 2012. Consensus and awareness programs are now necessary so that safe colonic stenting procedures can be identified and promoted throughout Japan. In general, standard procedures for placement of colonic stents remain to be established; the procedural steps and precautions presently practiced for placement of biliary tract stents, for example, cannot be relied upon for placement of stents in the gastrointestinal tract. The Colonic Stent Safe Procedure Research Group was founded to facilitate informed discussions of these very important considerations with all relevant parties.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the governing members and doctors who are coordinators in the research group, as well as everyone from the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society and everyone else concerned in this Research Group.