Exploring controversies in lung cancer using structured pro-con debates

The past decade has witnessed many advances in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. These include, but are not limited to, oncogenic driver mutations, diagnostic and functional imaging, endoscopic diagnosis, molecular pathology, oncogene targeted therapies, sub-lobar resections, image-guided and stereotactic radiotherapy, and most recently, immunotherapy. Many clinicians are hard-pressed in trying to keep up with these developments. Even when results from well-conducted prospective studies are available, their findings may be difficult to translate to individual patients due stringent study inclusion criteria. Study eligibility may not account for the growing numbers of frail patients with significant co-morbidities in the general population, as well as ethnic and cultural diversity in different regions. In the present era, clinicians can benefit from critical discussions that highlight the pros and cons of new findings or existing controversies.

Translational Lung Cancer Research (TLCR) has succeeded in engaging key international opinion leaders involved in the research of lung cancer, and it is now indexed in PubMed. Therefore, it would appear to be an ideal moment for TLCR to introduce the section on “Controversies on Lung Cancer: Pros and Cons”. Such a section will be familiar to readers of journals such as CHEST and Medical Physics. The TLCR will identify suitable topics, and invite authors to summarize the main arguments for and against a particular viewpoint. However, proposals for topics can also be submitted directly to the editors. Each viewpoint may be authored by up to two authors. Pro-con debates will be submitted in two stages, with the second ‘Rebuttal’ piece being more concise, with a shorter word limit.

In the era of personalized medicine, a critical appraisal new developments and controversies are essential in order to derived tailored approaches. In addition to its educative aspect, we expect these discussions to help younger researchers to refine their own research strategies. The section on “Controversies on Lung Cancer: Pros and Cons” is one more milestone for TLCR, and an acknowledgment of its dedication to translational research in lung cancer.

Acknowledgements

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Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.