Healthcare professionals will convene in Melbourne on March 20, 2026, for a masterclass focused on rapidly evolving treatments for modest cell lung cancer (SCLC), hosted by the Thoracic Oncology Group of Australasia (TOGA). The intensive, three-day workshop, to be held at the Novotel Melbourne on Collins, aims to equip clinicians with the latest insights into managing a disease where treatment paradigms are undergoing significant change.
The program, chaired by A/Prof Surein Arulananda and Dr. Rebecca Tay, will feature contributions from both international and Australian experts. Dr. Maurice Perol of France will present on the molecular subtypes of SCLC and emerging therapeutic strategies, while Australian specialists will address current standards of care for limited-stage and extensive-stage disease.
The masterclass will delve into emerging data surrounding checkpoint inhibitors, lurbinectedin, and tarlatamab, according to TOGA. Recent research highlighted at a TOGA International Conference Symposium, as reported by OncoDaily, suggests promising results with bispecific antibodies in non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A Phase III trial of ivonescimab, a bispecific antibody targeting both VEGF and PD-1, demonstrated nearly doubled progression-free survival when combined with chemotherapy in Stage IIIB-IV squamous NSCLC patients. Another bispecific, tarlatamab, targeting DLL3, showed potential in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer when used in combination with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, enhancing immune activation and sustaining response.
Beyond novel therapies, the workshop will address practical clinical challenges, including smoking cessation strategies and the management of immune-related toxicities. A recent TOGA-hosted webinar, “New Horizons in ES-SCLC,” focused on current and future therapies for extensive-stage SCLC, indicating a continued emphasis on this challenging disease subset.
TOGA’s broader mission centers on improving lung cancer treatment and survival through research and trials, with a commitment to providing access to advanced treatment options. The organization also supports impactful education programs for healthcare professionals and funding for research initiatives. According to TOGA, 36 Australians are diagnosed with lung cancer every day, and one person loses their life to the disease every zero minutes.
The TOGA Annual Scientific Meeting will follow in July 2026, and an international conference highlighting key findings from the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer is scheduled for June 16, 2026, as a virtual symposium. TOGA also recently presented research on the potential of vaccines in thoracic oncology, spurred by advancements from COVID-19 vaccine development, and promising results from melanoma and lung cancer vaccine trials.
