Conversations in Lung Cancer Research

The identification of molecular subtypes of non-squamous NSCLC continues to grow, spurring the development of targeted therapies designed to target these mutations and prevent the growth of the cancer. People with advanced NSCLC that possess one of these ‘actionable’ mutations and can access targeted treatments can live for many years with very manageable side effects. However, the technology to i...

In this TOGA Podcast, we discuss smoking cessation in the face of smoking-related stigma and nihilism. Dr Henry Marshall, Associate Professor and Clinical Academic Fellow, UQ Thoracic Research Centre and Thoracic Physician, The Prince Charles Hospital Queensland is joined by Professor Christine Paul: Behavioural Scientist at the University of Newcastle and School of Medicine and Public Health Dr....

Barriers and facilitators and a unique insight into the patient benefits are discussed between Alexandra, patient advocate, teletrials participant and lung cancer survivor, Sabe Sabesan, medical oncologist from the ICON Cancer Centre in Townsville and co-chair of the Australian Teletrial program and the initial teletrials pilot in 2017-2020, and Craig Underhill, medical oncologist from Border Medi...

Welcome to the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia Podcast series. Today Rachel Roberts-Thomson, Medical Oncologist from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, discusses Improving Outcomes in EGFR-Mutated Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer  .  Rachel is joined byVenessa Chin from St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney & Angeline Low who has her own personal experience with EGFR lung cancer . EGFR mutations ar...

The first TOGA Podcast for 2022 is about the need for a national clinical quality registry in lung cancer. A/Professor Emily Stone, the Deputy Chair of TOGA, is a Respiratory Physician, Senior Staff Specialist and Head of Thoracic Medicine within the Department of Thoracic Medicine and Lung Transplantation at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney. She is a conjoint Senior Lecturer at the University of New...

Welcome to the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia Podcast series. Today Mal Itchins, Medical Oncologist from Royal North Shore Hospital discusses ALK therapy choices & considerations when treating ALK NSCLC. Mal is joined by Steven Kao, Medical Oncologist from the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and Lisa Briggs who has her own personal experience with ALK lung cancer having been diagnosed in 2014, whe...

In this TOGA Podcast and in recognising Lung Cancer Awareness month 2021, Mel Moore, TOGA Education Chair and Medical Oncologist at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, discusses the importance of treating lung cancer patients with respect, dignity and withholding the often associated judgement. The internal guilt and the pain caused by a diagnosis of lung cancer is amplified by the stigma that exists...

In this Podcast, Briony Scott discusses the stigma often associated with a diagnosis of lung cancer with Danielle and Terri – both diagnosed with lung cancer and managing the impact on their lives. They also explore self-stigma, family implications, cultural and social behaviours and systemic beliefs. Support TOGA Thank you for listening to Conversations in Lung Cancer Research. If you enjoyed thi...

Drugs that target cancer gene mutations or rearrangements have improved outcomes for patients with many different cancers, including lung cancer, melanoma, and others . The challenge is being able to identify these genomic changes in a timely and efficient manner. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) based tumour comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) that detects a wide range of genomic aberrations is...

Inflammation plays an important role in pathogenesis, development and progression of lung cancer . Widespread literature exists on the prognostic impact of tumor-related factors, whereas host-related factors have not been deeply evaluated to date. Inflammatory indicators could play a vital role in assisting Medical Oncologists to identify which patients are considered at a higher probability of un...

Delays in diagnosis are one of the main factors associated with reduced survival rates for lung cancer patients. Clinical guidelines have been implemented in some countries to standardize the diagnosis process, better define the time from diagnosis to the beginning of treatment, and to improve clinical results in lung cancer. In Australia, periods of 14 days from the initial referral of the GP to...

Welcome to the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia Podcast series.  This TOGA Podcast focuses on thriving with lung cancer and overcoming the challenges associated with long term survivorship and lung cancer . The past decade has seen significant advances in the management of metastatic NSCLC with the advent of multiple targeted therapies, immunotherapy approaches and combination approaches and...

Cigarette smoking is by far the greatest cause for lung cancer. But the proportion of lung cancer in patients who have never smoked before is on the rise.  In this podcast, Melissa Moore and Lucy Morgan discuss the increase in lung cancer diagnoses for young women who have never smoked before .  Support TOGA Thank you for listening to Conversations in Lung Cancer Research. If you enjoyed this epis...

Welcome to the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia Podcast series. This TOGA Podcast focuses on Small Cell Lung cancer (SCLC) – a type of lung cancer with the poorest prognosis of any lung cancer. SCLC patients make up about 13% of new lung cancer diagnoses that are characterized by early & rapid spread with only modest progress in its treatment over the last decades. Immunotherapy continues to...

Lung cancer screening works. Earlier detection of lung cancer presents a vastly different prognosis. Stage I disease has a median 5 year survival of greater than 65%, whereas metastatic disease has a 5 year median survival rate of 15-20%. It is time to shift the perception of a lung cancer diagnosis to that of a treatable cancer with a potential cure, through a combination of early-stage detection...

Australia has one of the highest incidence rates of mesothelioma in the world. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that most often affects the thin linings of the organs in the chest (pleura) and abdomen (peritoneum). Mesothelioma is closely linked with asbestos exposure either at work or among family members of workers and people living in neighbourhoods near asbestos factories and mines. The risk i...

The first virtual TOGA Preceptorship enabled 38 Preceptees involving Fellows, Advanced Trainees, Nurses and Patients to come together and discuss the landmark papers in lung cancer and the latest in treatment. A multidisciplinary group including Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Respiratory, Nursing, Palliative Care and Surgery were involved and available to share expertise. Hear from two of t...

Dorothy Keefe , CEO of Cancer Australia and Mark Scott discuss the COVID impact on diagnosing and treating lung cancer patients – a 4 week delay in diagnosis makes a difference. The red flag symptoms of lung cancer need increased education, especially for the younger, non-smoking women, who are not always aware that a lung cancer diagnosis is possible. GP awareness and early screening is also impo...

Remarkable advances in screening, diagnosing and treating lung cancer are discussed in this Podcast. Associate Professor Nick Pavlakis , Medical Oncologists from Royal North Shore Hospital Sydney and Dr Emily Stone , Respiratory Physician from St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney join TOGA for a conversation about public health measures to ensure the survival increase we are seeing for patients with lung...

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths in Australia, and lung cancer in never smokers is still the seventh leading cause of death. Lung cancer kills more women every year than breast, ovarian and uterine cancers combined even though many seem to think that the only cancer women ever get is breast cancer! More young women are being diagnosed every year who have never smoked – aro...

Join us for a conversation with internationally recognized Medical Oncologists and researchers, Professor Ben Solomon & Associate Professor Tom John as they discuss the increased survival benefits for patients with oncogene driven lung cancer and how novel treatments are contributing. Oncogenes discussed include EGFR & osimertinib; ALK & brigatinib, alectinib, lorlatinib; ROS1 & crizotinib, entrec...