As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words", and some types of information are more effectively understood when presented in an image. For example, the neoplasms observed in cancer are almost always recognizable by the presence of morphological lesions. Cancer gives rise to various morbid changes. Here at the National Kyushu Cancer Center, the mainstay hospital in Kyushu for cancer-related diagnosis and treatment, we have compiled a database of images on various types of cancers. This database has been made public since November 1998 in order to serve the wider community.

The Kyushu Medical Image Database has been produced as a part of the 5th field shared-research program of scientific research for Health and Welfare Programs under "the Second Term Comprehensive 10-year Strategy for Cancer Control of the Ministry of Health and Welfare". Part of the image database has been derived from the joint research findings of the "Project Research for the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum " and the "Registration and Information Committee of the Japanese Society for Familial Tumors". We are looking forward to your ongoing support and feedback.