Dr Florez on the Significance of a Consensus Manuscript From the BTG Lung Cancer Conference

“In this consensus [manuscript], we focused on leptomeningeal disease [and] the management of small cell lung cancer. It provides a guide for those unanswered questions for our community partners, academic colleagues, and industry colleagues.”

Narjust Florez, MD, the associate medical director of the Cancer Care Access Program and a thoracic medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discussed the publication of a consensus manuscript in Cancer on recommendations for clinical strategies for lung cancer management from the Bridging the Gaps (BTG) Lung Cancer Consensus Conference 2024, and its significance for clinical practice.

During the 2024 BTG Lung Cancer Consensus Conference, a multidisciplinary expert panel discussed ongoing clinical issues in lung cancer. Topics included small cell lung cancer (SCLC) management, the use of targeted therapy in EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), early-stage NSCLC management, the identification and management of non-EGFR oncogene-driven NSCLC, and the role of immunotherapy in advanced/metastatic NSCLC. Based on these discussions, twelve consensus recommendations were developed with the goal of providing guidance on the use of novel diagnostic methods and treatments for those who manage lung cancer. The recommendations were developed with a US focus on where level 1 evidence was lacking.

Florez noted that the panel followed research protocol when drafting the consensus manuscript. The consensus manuscript focused on the management of patients with leptomeningeal disease and SCLC, and provides a guide for unanswered questions and can be used by community partners, academic colleagues, and industry colleagues, she said.

The manuscript could also offer a starting point for identifying research questions that remain unanswered and require further exploration, Florez explained. Thus, the consensus manuscript is hypothesis generating for future studies that will focus on addressing the remaining gaps in lung cancer care, she concluded.

Editor’s note: This interview took place before the consensus manuscript was published in Cancer.

Reference

Florez N, Patel S, Wakelee HA, et al. Clinical strategies for lung cancer management: recommendations from the Bridging the Gaps Lung Cancer Consensus Conference 2024. Cancer. 2025;131(17):e70060. doi:10.1002/cncr.70060