Posted: August 14, 2019
The world’s largest international gathering of clinicians, researchers, and scientists in the field of lung cancer and thoracic oncology—the IASLC 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC)—will kick off on September 7, in Barcelona, Spain.
As in previous years, more than 7,000 delegates representing more than 100 countries are expected to attend the 4-day conference. The variety of attendees illustrates the conference’s status as the premier platform for the presentation of new science and the unique networking opportunities it provides.
“The meeting is a great opportunity to interact with national and international colleagues in person, learn what they are involved in, and get updated on progress across specialties,” said IASLC 2019 WCLC Co-Chair Ramon Rami-Porta, MD, PhD, clinical chief of the department of thoracic surgery at Hospital Universitari Mútua Terrassa in Barcelona.
Cutting-Edge Science
In addition to the networking opportunities, Dr. Rami-Porta looks forward each year to “being an eyewitness to the latest innovations in the field of thoracic oncology that lead to changes in clinical practice,” he said.
Attendees can hear about some of this ground-breaking science during the Presidential Symposium Monday, September 9 at 8:15. This exciting session will include the presentation of the conference’s top four rated abstracts.
“Data resulting in a change in clinical practice does not occur every year, but it happened last year in Toronto, and there are good reasons to think that it may happen again this year in Barcelona,” Dr. Rami-Porta said.
In addition to the Presidential Symposium, the conference will include three Plenary Sessions.
“We hope their titles are attractive enough to catch the attention of our attendees,” Dr. Rami-Porta said. “The topics of each session have been selected to attract a multidisciplinary audience, and we are sure attendees will not be disappointed.”
The first Plenary Session, “New Questions with Imaginative Answers,” will take place the morning of Sunday, September 8 at 8:15. This session will include presentations on tumor agnostic–biologically driven treatments, immunotherapy, and artificial intelligence/big data in the treatment of lung cancer.
The next two Plenary Sessions will take place on Tuesday, September 10. The first, “Relevant Aspects of Lung Cancer Management,” is at 9:15 and will include presentations on nurse-led follow-up care, emerging neoadjuvant strategies, lung cancer disparities, and tuberculosis. The second Plenary Session, “Food for Thought in the Management of Thoracic Malignancies,” will take place at 16:15 and will cover topics including survivorship and pleural mesothelioma.
Changes to the Program
This year’s Scientific Program also features two small innovations, according to Dr. Rami-Porta.
“The 2019 IASLC World Conference for Lung Cancer will provide an opportunity to meet top academic multidisciplinary experts in the thoracic malignancy field and to network with interested colleagues regarding translation of new discoveries into better prevention, diagnosis, staging, and treatment of thoracic malignancies. The meeting will be an excellent place to create new contacts, share new ideas for projects, and promote collaboration in thoracic malignancy research.” –Dr. Enriqueta Felip
The early-morning sessions are now called Interactive Breakfast Sessions. The sessions will maintain the same format used in previous WCLCs—presentation of a topic followed by discussion with the audience—but this year, some of these sessions will have an increased number of speakers to widen the points of view and keep good balance regarding geography and specialty.
In addition, the duration of the invited lectures in some of this year’s sessions have been shortened to allow more presentations, thereby covering topics in a more comprehensive way, Dr. Rami-Porta said.
“This will make the sessions more dynamic and will facilitate the exchange of opinions both among presenters and among the audience,” he said.
Encouraged to Attend
Outside of the plenary sessions, attendees will once again have multiple opportunities for networking. The meeting will begin on Saturday, September 1 at 19:00 with the Opening Ceremony & Keynote Presentation, which will include the IASLC Distinguished Awards Presentation. Immediately after attendees are invited to the Welcome Reception at 20:30.
Coffee breaks are scheduled throughout the day and are also excellent opportunities to catch up with colleagues.
“Nothing can replace face-to-face meetings,” Dr. Rami-Porta said. “I believe in the benefits of personal interaction. I have often thought that what may seemingly be a very casual conversation over coffee can save a life, perhaps, many years later.” ✦
From its first appearance on Twitter in 2013, #LCSM (Lung Cancer Social Media) has grown from a few tweets a week into the most-used cancer hashtag during the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting. Search for tweets containing the hashtag #LCSM to view the #LCSM feed.
The #LCSM community seeks to educate, develop public support, end the stigma, and facilitate successful treatments for the leading cause of cancer death worldwide: lung cancer. The community includes all of those affected by lung cancer, including: patients, caregivers, family members, healthcare providers, researchers, clinicians, advocates, funders, government organizations, and industry.
Once each month, the community comes together on Twitter for #LCSM Chat. The #LCSM Chat website (lcsmchat.com) is home to a list of upcoming chat topics as well as transcripts of past chats. Search for tweets containing the hashtag “#LCSM” to view the #LCSM feed. #LCSM Chat topics for the remainder of 2019 are listed below. All chats start on a Thursday evening at 8:00 pm ET and last 1 hour.
• Sep 19 World Lung (#WCLC19) Wrap-Up
• Oct 3 The Path to Research Advocacy
• Nov 07 Lung Cancer Awareness—Are We Making a Difference?
• Dec 05 Ho Ho How to Do Holidays with Cancer
