Experts Laud WCLC as Rare Opportunity for In-Person International Collaboration

As the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) came to an end, speakers expressed sincere enthusiasm for this meeting and all it has to offer. The makeup of WCLC offers a unique opportunity for international collaboration as one of the rare meetings to bring together clinicians from multiple countries and varying research backgrounds in the global thoracic community.

With the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) celebrating its 50th anniversary this year’s WCLC, The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) spoke with chairs and presenters to learn more about what they enjoy most about this meeting and why they look forward to attending each year.

These transcripts have been lightly edited for clarity.

AJMC: What is your favorite aspect about attending WCLC?

IASLC 50th anniversary | image credit: oncodaily.com/societies/iaslc-137514

Sandip Patel, MD, University of California, San Diego: My favorite part about attending WCLC is really seeing my international colleagues in person every year. There are very few international meetings where everyone can get together across multiple disciplines, across multiple countries, and really kind of strategize on what makes sense. Email is nice, video is nice, but seeing folks in person really takes it to another level. And so, this is one of the meetings where the global thoracic community really can get together, without being focused on specific region, without a specific disciplinary focus, while really bringing everyone together.

Heather Wakelee, MD, Stanford University: The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer is really a premier organization. For pretty much all of us who are researchers in the field of lung cancer, IASLC is a big part of our careers, and WCLC is something we look forward to each year. And it's not just investigators, it's also patients and patient advocates and just everybody from all different aspects who is involved in dealing with thoracic malignancies. Coming to WCLC, we get to see incredible science. We had two presidential symposiums with really exciting new trial data that were presented, and then a lot of other posters and things that dove into the niche areas. Although not everything is going to be of interest to everybody, there is an understanding that all that is going on is sort of moving the whole field forward. It’s fun to see everybody and reconnect and hear what people are excited about and learn from each other. It's always a great time.

John Heymach, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center: Yeah, I think it's wonderful to see investigators from around the world and come together to tackle the common problems, while also learning about the different approaches of different healthcare systems. I think we're all united around the fact that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and everybody here at the meeting was united by the common purpose of fighting lung cancer. So that makes it a very exciting and collaborative environment to be in.

Bellinda King-Kallimanis, PhD, LUNGevity Foundation: I love learning and WCLC is such a great place to do that, whether by attending the different sessions or walking around the posters and talking with people, or via the more informal chats over coffee. I always look forward to attending this meeting and connecting with old friends as well as making new friends.

Matthew Smeltzer, PhD, MStat, University of Memphis: My favorite part is interacting with other researchers from around the world, different disciplines, different backgrounds, and working in such different settings. I just love the multidisciplinary feel and the interaction with everyone and learning from everyone. We are all getting together for the common goal of improving the lives of people with lung cancer.