Mesothelioma is not lung cancer, but many experts who treat mesothelioma also treat lung cancer. Therefore, this enormous conference which often boasts 7,000 to 8,000 attendees, customarily organizes sessions about mesothelioma. This year, as in the past few, mesothelioma sessions have gained so much interest that the conference rooms hosting them are often lined with crowds of attendees who can’t find a place to sit.
Today marked the first day of 2018 conference, and one of the first sessions was the Mesothelioma Workshop. This session, which lasted over three hours, featured many speakers who are very prominent within the Foundation’s community also. We summarize several talks below and include some relevant Twitter conversations.
- What are the most important unmet needs in the surgical management of mesothelioma, presented by Dr. Valerie Rusch, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Dr. Rusch stressed areas of disagreement in the field that once resolved will facilitate patient selection before surgery. Understanding which patients should be operated on, and which shouldn’t, is an area of study that experts are currently grappling with. For example, patient selection could be based on histological subtypes of disease or certain staging aspects. Dr. Rusch’s message for the field is to create standards and uniformity. In her own words, “it is time for data-driven guidelines.”
Dr. Valerie Rusch (paraphrased): Applying one standard of care for #mesothelioma is an error. Mesothelioma is not one disease. We need to refine the standard(s) of care. #WCLC2018
— Maja Belamaric (@BelamaricMaja) September 23, 2018
- Who are the high risk patients for surgical failure in mesothelioma, by Dr. Harvey Pass, of New York University School of Medicine.
Dr. Pass, similarly to Dr. Rusch, talked about ways in which we could determine before surgery which patients to NOT operate on. The potential for using information and knowledge currently available is there, but uniformity is still a problem.
- SMART, Where is it going? By Dr. Marc de Perrot, of the University of Toronto.
The acronym SMART, which stands for Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy, is a clinical trial in which patients receive radiation prior to surgery. Dr. de Perrot discussed the evolution of this trial, including new radiation concepts, and announced the start of a SMARTER trial which will feature changes in administration of radiation. A portion of the SMART trial was funded by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.
- Reliability of MM Diagnosis and Role of BAP1 Staining, by Francoise Galateau-Salle, Centre Leon Berard.
Dr. Galateau-Salle’s presentation was quite technical (as most are at this conference). She focused on issues of reliability in diagnosing mesothelioma, thus outlining questions often faced by pathologists.
Take home messages for BAP1 loss in diagnosis on #mesothelioma Francoise Galateau-Salle speaks. #WCLC2018 pic.twitter.com/VyhiY6CGBm
— Anna Nowak (@perth_meso_dr) September 23, 2018
The next part of the workshop looked at immunotherapy in mesothelioma, a hot topic these days because of its dramatic response in some patients but a complete lack of response in others. Researchers are working to understand better who responds and why.
Dr. Raphael Bueno: Current limitation of immunotherapy in #mesothelioma is to define responders and then making non-responders respond. #curemeso #WCLC2018 pic.twitter.com/UmERc7wJll
— Maja Belamaric (@BelamaricMaja) September 23, 2018
Dr. Aaron Mansfield of the Mayo Clinic (and a member of the board of the Meso Foundation) took this point further by suggesting that toxicity should be studied further to learn which patients will not tolerate treatment before treatment is administered.
@AMansfieldMD presents overview of #immunotherapy: “not only do we need to predict response, but we also need to predict harm from toxicity.” #mesothelioma #curemeso #WCLC2018 pic.twitter.com/sj6CNhWclg
— Maja Belamaric (@BelamaricMaja) September 23, 2018
Getting to the difficult conversations around #immunooncology in #Mesothelioma – it’s not always straightforward and let’s remember the #toxicity . @AMansfieldMD maintains equipoise in a balanced and comprehensive talk. #WCLC2018 pic.twitter.com/azZFePZqVT
— Anna Nowak (@perth_meso_dr) September 23, 2018
And, of course, a serious conference wouldn’t be complete without a splash of humor, in this case about Dr. Michele Carbone and his study on BAP1.
#mesothelioma humour. #pioneers #WCLC2018 #research @AMansfieldMD @MHesdorffer @dean_fennell @TommyJohn00 @MGZauderer @IASLC pic.twitter.com/J8ClFruilK
— Anna Nowak (@perth_meso_dr) September 23, 2018
Speaking of which, our own board chair, Dr. Marjorie Zauderer of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, also presented on novel approaches for targeting BAP1.
The chair of our board of directors @MGZauderer is discussing approaches for targeting BAP1. #WCLC2018 #curemeso #mesothelioma pic.twitter.com/7w85gj78EF
— Meso Foundation (@curemeso) September 23, 2018
This incredibly informative session concluded with a tribute to Dr. David Sugarbaker, a true pioneer in mesothelioma surgery, who will be greatly missed by his patients and colleagues alike.
Tribute to late Dr. David Sugarbaker, pioneer surgeon for #mesothelioma. #WCLC2018 #curemeso #mesothelioma pic.twitter.com/NJKkPM6wKt
— Meso Foundation (@curemeso) September 23, 2018
The message for patients and their families is that experts are working hard on solving mesothelioma. Despite progress moving slowly, researchers keeps chipping at it consistently and forcibly. And to researchers, we cannot express enough our gratitude. Please continue your life-saving work! And next time, show up early to conference sessions if you wish to get a seat.
