ERS Assembly 11: Thoracic oncology

Group 11.01
Chair: Georgia Hardavella
Secretary: Andriani Charpidou

Lung cancer has advanced to the deadliest tumour worldwide. Prevention, diagnosis and therapy of this devastating disease are the main challenges for respiratory physicians.

Group 11.01 intends to bring together the scientists and clinicians of Europe and the world that are involved or interested in lung cancer. We aim to raise awareness of the burden of this disease in the medical community as well as the general population, and to promote basic, clinical and translational research in this field. Furthermore, we aim to improve the quality of medical care of lung cancer patients by establishing practice guidelines and divulging scientific knowledge. The Group seeks to offer education and improve collaboration between scientists, respiratory physicians and other clinicians. By establishing practice guidelines and divulging scientific knowledge, we aim to improve the quality of medical care of lung cancer patients.

Two projects are currently on our programme:

• "Lung Cancer across Europe" should be a survey to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the widely differing national structures, standards and habits in lung cancer treatment.
• "A European Initiative for Quality Management in Lung Cancer Care" will combine existing national efforts to promote transparency and clinical pathways, to implement guidelines and knowledge, and to establish quality control in daily practice.

If lung cancer is within your scope of interest, we invite you to join this group and contribute to its development.

Group 11.02
Chair: Kevin Blyth
Secretary: Avinash Aujayeb

Pleural and mediastinal malignancies are less frequent than lung cancer but represent an important concern in the daily practice of respiratory physicians. In fact, the incidence of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is growing and this trend will continue for the two next decades in most European countries, linked to previous asbestos exposure, the main aetiological factor of MPM. Moreover, malignant pleural effusions are much more frequent than MPM, and are a common complication of many cancers, like breast and lung cancers.

Group 11.02 aims to focus on all aspects of these tumours, including: epidemiology and prevention; pathogenesis; diagnosis and staging; the multidisciplinary approach of therapy; and follow-up and palliative care.

Among this Group, we would like to help the respiratory physician's practice by the organisation of symposia on contemporary clinical questions and of dedicated school courses, and by establishing practice guidelines in cooperation with other societies. A recent example is the 2009 ERS/ESTS experts’ task force for establishing guidelines for the management of MPM, that were presented during the 2009 ERS Annual Congress in Vienna and published in the European Respiratory Journal in 2010. In parallel with participation in the ERS training courses and symposia, to transmit our knowledge to our young colleagues, we would like to create great connections and exchanges between the European specialists of pleural and mediastinal malignancies to promote basic and clinical research studies in this field. Please join our Group for exciting and friendly scientific discussions and meetings!