The International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference (ILCSC) is a free virtual educational conference for people with lung cancer, caregivers, and advocates. The 2023 conference was held September 22-23.  

The recorded sessions from this conference are available to registered participants through December 21, 2023, at www.lungevity.org/ilcsc. If you did not register for the conference but would like to view the recordings, you may still register for free access. The recordings are available until December 21.

I had the privilege of attending the 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in Singapore with my colleague Dr. Bellinda King-Kallimanis. WCLC, the world's largest meeting dedicated to lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, is an excellent forum for learning about the latest research into the early detection and treatment of lung cancer. Apart from the science, it was inspiring to see fellow advocates and network with brilliant researchers, all razor-focused on improving the outcomes and lives of people diagnosed with lung cancer.

While participating in clinical trials can provide substantial benefits to people with lung cancer, the resources required to do so may pose significant hurdles, especially to those who don’t live close to where trials are held, such as academic medical centers or major oncology network sites. Decentralized clinical trials remove some hurdles to trial participation for patients and are thus important for improving trial access for larger and more diverse groups of people. The U.S.

Recently, members of LUNGevity Foundation joined thousands of attendees from the US and around the world, including oncologists, scientists, biotech and pharmaceutical representatives, advocates, and patients, to discuss lifesaving cancer research at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago from June 2 through June 6, 2023.

As Chief Investigator of the groundbreaking Cancer Research UK (CRUK) TRACERx study, you could say that Dr. Charles Swanton is having a moment. Launched nine years ago, TRACERx seeks to understand lung cancer at its most basic level, “tracing” the clues that may predict how it starts and eventually changes over time so that doctors can treat it better.

Cancer Grand Challenges is a partnership between Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which funds global teams of leading researchers across various scientific disciplines to tackle some of the toughest challenges in cancer research. As Dinah Singer, Acting Director of NCI’s Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives says, “Cancer research is a global endeavor.” 

The development of new treatments for any disease relies on the collaborative efforts of many different stakeholders, such as scientists, clinicians, patient advocacy groups, regulators, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

During scientific conferences that happen throughout the year, stakeholders cobble together opportunities to discuss the current state of treatments and strategize ways to bring emerging lifesaving treatments to patients.

Targeted therapies, or treatments directed towards specific biomarkers in tumor cells, have been effective in treating many patients with advanced-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Take a behind-the-scenes look at how researchers study lung cancer. Join lung cancer researcher Triparna Sen, PhD, as she digs into what’s known about how EGFR-positive NSCLC cells transform into SCLC to escape targeted therapy treatment. SCLC transformation is a common resistance mechanism for multiple types of NSCLC, including EGFR, ALK, and RET.

Upal Basu Roy, PhD, MPH, LUNGevity's Executive Director of Research, speaks with Charles Rudin, MD, PhD, about the key findings from the recent meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and what they mean for the lung cancer community.