History of the WCLC 

1st World Conference - 1978

 This highly successful conference was held in May of 1978, at Hilton Head, South Carolina, with large attendance by participants from throughout the world. Contributing greatly to the success of this meeting was Dr. Ronald Vincent, who served as Chairman of the conference.

2nd World Conference - 1980

Under the chairmanship of Dr. Heine H. Hansen, the Second World Conference on Lung Cancer was held on June 9 to 13, 1980, in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmoe, Sweden. Over 1000 participants from throughout the world attended this highly successful conference. At the conclusion of the meeting, the officers and directors were elected for 1980-82.

3rd  World Conference - 1982

Tokyo was chosen at the site of the Third World Conference on Lung Cancer, to he held May 17 to 20, 1982. Under the able guidance of Dr. Shichiro Ishikawa, Congress President, and the energetic assistance of Congress Vice President, Yoshihiro Hayata, the successful Third World Conference was attended by over 15000 participants representing most of the major nations of the world.

4th  World Conference - 1985

Toronto was selected as the site for the Fourth International Conference on Lung Cancer with Dr. Ronald Feld serving as Secretary-General and Dr. Ronald Feld serving as Secretary-General and Dr. Ronald Ginsberg as Chairman of the Program Committee

6th  World Conference- 1991

The Sixth World Conference on Lung Cancer was attended by 1240 delegates from 47 countries and the first recipient of the IASLC Merit Award was to be found. It was decided that the award should be given to a person who had been an IASLC member for at least 10 years, had manifested himself/herself at an international level as a person engaged in the field of lung cancer, either pre-clinically or clinically, and had promoted the activities of the IASLC. It was unanimously agreed that the first recipient of the IASLC Merit Award should be Dr. Clifton Mountain..

7th  World Conference - 1994

Colorado Springs, USA, was chosen as the location for the 7th World Congress with Dr. Paul A. Bunn, Jr. as Secretary General. At the same time, Dr. Yoshihiro Hayata began his period as President, and Dr. Heine H. Hansen was elected Executive Director for the expanding IASLC Office located in Copenhagen. New activities were planned with a series of workshops, now also including Eastern Europe and South Africa. With the support from the industry, traveling and educational grants within the Organization were created for promising young investigators and colleagues from developing countries.

The Seventh World conference was a gigantic success _ scientifically, socially, and economically. Set in beautiful Colorado Springs, the meeting was attended by 1347 participants from 49 countries.

8th  World Conference - 1997

Dublin, Ireland, was chosen as the venue for the 8th World Conference with Dr. Desmond N. Carney as Secretary General.  The 8th World Conference in Dublin took place in August 1997. Dr. Desmond N. Carney and his staff had put together an exciting and varied program of science and entertainment. With the attendance of 2505 delegates from 63 countries, and a surplus which enabled IASLC to expand its activities during the next 3-year period, the Dublin meeting was a truly memorable event in the history if IASLC.

9th  World Conference - 2000

The 9th World Conference was held in Tokyo, Japan in September, 2000 with Dr. Y. Hayata as the Congress President. A total of 1,130 abstracts were submitted to the Conference, which was attended by 2,135 participants from 64 countries. Among the memorable events were the opening ceremony, attended by members of the Japanese imperial family, and the gigantic ball with traditional Japanese performers that made a superb conclusion to the conference.

10th  World Conference - 2003

The Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre was the venue for the 10th World Conference of Lung Cancer held in August 2003 and chaired by Nevin Murray. There were a total of 3344 registrants from 77 countries and 1149 abstracts were submitted

11th  World Conference - 2005

The new International Convention Center of Barcelona, located in the heart of a new activity area of Barcelona on the shores of the Mediterranean, was the venue for the 11th World Conference on Lung Cancer, chaired by Rafael Rosell and Laureano Molins. This was the largest World Conference yet, with a total of 4987 registrants from 92 countries and 1488 submitted abstracts. For the first time, a special Fellows' Day was scheduled in conjunction with the conference, encompassing topics that were appealing and useful to younger investigators. The main program of the conference included 87 sessions, with lectures given by 175 invited speakers and almost 500 contributors to the scientific program

12th  World Conference - 2007

The 12th World Conference on Lung Cancer took place at the COEX Convention Center in Seoul, Korea on September 2-6, 2007.  The conference theme was "Let's Make Lung Cancer History". 

13th  World Conference - 2009

The 13th World Conference (North America), 2009 will be held in San Francisco,  July/August. Drs. David Gandara and David Jablons are the conference co-chairs. 

14th  World Conference - 2011

The 14th World Lung Cancer conference will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, July 2-7, 2011.  Dr. Pieter Postmus is the Conference chairman.

about iaslc

History of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer

1972

In October 1972, the First International Workshop for Therapy of Lung Cancer was held at Airlie House Conference Center outside Washington D.C. This conference, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, drew together an international group of individuals from all disciplines of medicine interested in the problem of lung cancer. The interchange of ideas among this multi-disciplinary international group was both productive and stimulating. At the concluding meeting, held on October 20, 1972, Dr. David T. Carr from the Mayo Clinic, USA, introduced the idea of forming an international organization to continue this fruitful exchange of ideas, and generally enthusiastic support for the concept was voiced by those present at the workshop.

An organizing committee was formed and Dr. David T. Carr accepted chairmanship of a committee to prepare a constitution and bylaws. Dr. Oleg S. Selawry, with the assistance of Drs. Lawrence Broder and George Higgins from the Washington V.A. Hospital, USA, and other members of the organization committee began the slow task of development. Questionnaires and applications were sent to a wide variety of individuals with interest in the problem of lung cancer throughout the world, as well as to those who had attended the Airlie meeting. By mid 1974, approximately 250 individuals had accepted membership in the Association and plans were made to have an organization meeting in conjunction with the XIth International Cancer Congress, sponsored by the UICC in Florence, Italy.

1974

On the evening of October 26, 1974, in Florence, Italy, the first formal organizational meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Dr. Oleg S. Selawry. Bylaws of the Organization were discussed and adopted by unanimous vote. Dr. Clifton Mountain, M.D. Anderson Hospital, Houston, USA, presented the slate of officers and board of directors with results of the ballots which had been mailed out prior to the meeting. This slate of officers was unanimously elected.

A formal meeting of the Executive Committee was held on December 11, 1974, in Key Biscayne, Florida, and many subsequent informal meetings and discussions were held concerning development and goals for the Association. The Association was incorporated as a non-profit corporation. Membership certificates were designed, with the now familiar logo, prepared and mailed to all members. Periodic newsletters were prepared and disseminated to inform membership of organizational progress. Much of this work was done by Dr. Lawrence Broder, first Secretary of the Association.

1976

Early in 1976, Dr. Selawry assumed a new position at the Miami Cancer Center and found it impossible to devote sufficient time to the developing organization and submitted his resignation in May of 1976.

In Accordance with the Bylaws, the Vice-President, David T. Carr, assumed the office of President.

1978

With this slow and somewhat tentative beginning, a solid foundation for the Organization had been established. Under the energetic leadership of Dr. Clifton Mountain, plans were made for the First World Congress on Lung Cancer, sponsored by IASLC. This highly successful conference was held in May of 1978, at Hilton Head, South Carolina, with large attendance by participants from throughout the world. Contributing greatly to the success of this meeting was Dr. Ronald Vincent, who served as Chairman of the conference. Now officers and directors were elected to serve during the period between 1978-80. During this period, under Dr. George A. Higgins' leadership, there was a substantial increase in membership. Newsletters were regularly distributed and plans were made for the Second World Conference.

1982

The decision was made to hold the International World Conference on Lung Cancer at three-year intervals instead of two years.

1994

The IASLC Merit Award was shared by Dr. Y. Shimosato and Dr. N. Bleehen. Seven more awards were given, including Developing Nations awards and Young Investigator awards. IASLC Recommendations on Tobacco Policy were established, and Dr. Paul A. Bunn, Jr., commenced his period of presidency.  After the Colorado meeting several workshops were held on topics ranging from prevention to tumor biology. Also, the important and successful central European Lung Cancer Conferences continued with meetings in Prague, Czech Republic and Gdansk, Poland.

1997

The IASLC Merit Award was given to Dr. Heine H. Hansen, Copenhagen, in recognition of his longstanding contributions to the IASLC and the Mary J. Matthews Award was given to Dr. William D. Travis, Washington DC, for his excellence in lung cancer pathology.

Between the World Conferences in Dublin and Tokyo, a total of 13 workshops, symposia, and other meetings were arranged under the auspices of IASLC, and 5 meetings were arranged under the Educational Program in India, Thailand, China, Brazil and Jordan with speakers from the IASLC Facility.

1999

Under the chairmanship of Dr. Peter Goldstraw, UK, the IASLC Staging Committee launched in 1999 the cumbersome work of creating a new staging system for lung cancer based on a truly international data register.  The IASLC Textbook of Lung Cancer, which was published in 1999, has now been translated into Chinese thanks to the efforts of Dr. Li Hou-wen, Shenyang, China.

2000

Dr. Harubumi Kato, Japan took over the Presidency and Dr. Frances Shepherd, Canada was chosen as the new President-Elect.  The Board decided on the Tokyo Declaration as an official IASLC document requesting governments worldwide to take actions against the alarming rate at which lung cancer is occurring in both men and women.

2001

In 2001, workshops and symposia have been arranged in Barcelona, Spain; in Prague, Czech Republic; in Reykjavik, Iceland, and in Chicago, USA. Under the IASLC Educational Program, meetings and courses have been arranged in Dalian, China; in Istanbul, Turkey; in Bialystok. Poland and in Beijing, China.

2002 - Present

The new IASLC Journal "Journal of Thoracic Oncology" started January 1, 2006 and published 9 issues in 2006. It published 12 issues in 2007 and will continue 12 issues annually.  Dr. James Jett is the Editor of the JTO and has seen the JTO off to a very successful start.

In 2002 Workshops, Symposia and Educational meetings have been arranged in Belgium, Italy, Austria, India, Taiwan.

In 2003 Workshops, Symposia and Educational meetings have been arranged in Lithuania, China, Spain. The Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre was the venue for the 10th World Conference of Lung Cancer held in August 2003 and chaired by Nevin Murray. There were a total of 3344 registrants from 77 countries and 1149 abstracts were submitted.

In 2004 IASLC arranged 8 workshops, symposia and educational meetings in Portugal, US, Switzerland, Thailand, Brazil, Poland and Germany.

In 2005 IASLC arranged 8 workshops, symposia and educational meetings in the UK, Japan, India, Indonesia, Russia, china, Turkey and US. The new International Convention Center of Barcelona, located in the heart of a new activity area of Barcelona on the shores of the Mediterranean, was the venue for the 11th World Conference on Lung Cancer, chaired by Rafael Rosell and Laureano Molins. This was the largest World Conference yet, with a total of 4987 registrants from 92 countries and 1488 submitted abstracts. For the first time, a special Fellows’ Day was scheduled in conjunction with the conference, encompassing topics that were appealing and useful to younger investigators. The main program of the conference included 87 sessions, with lectures given by 175 invited speakers and almost 500 contributors to the scientific program

In 2006 IASLC arranged 11 workshops, symposia and educational meetings in the Ireland, US, Mexico, Czech Republic, Australia, Italy, China, Turkey and Italy.

In 2007 the 12th World Conference on Lung Cancer took place at the COEX Convention Center in Seoul, Korea on September 2-6, 2007.  The conference theme was "Let's Make Lung Cancer History". 

In 2008 two new initiatives will begin.  In April IASLC ESMO arranged the 1st European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva, Switzerland and in November IASLC, ASTRO, ASCO and the University of Chicago will arrange the 2008 Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology in Chicago.  Seven workshops in US, Thailand, Switzerland, UK, Chile and India are planned to be sponsored by the IASLC.

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