On June 12 – 13, 2024, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital hosted the annual Lung Cancer SPORE Workshop at Yale West Campus. This year’s two-day workshop was held in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation in lung cancer, which launched the era of personalized medicine in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), leading to a dramatic shift in treatment.

Chaired by Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Ensign Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Professor of Pharmacology, Deputy Director, Yale Cancer Center, and Chief of Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital, and Katerina Politi, PhD, Joseph A. and Lucille K. Madri Professor of Pathology, the workshop included presentations from featured speakers, panel discussions, and posters sessions. Invited speakers in the field of lung cancer came from various institutions including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School, The Ohio State University, Emory University, and UT Southwestern, among many others.

The first day of the event focused on the early days and the current landscape of research, treatment, and diagnosis in the EGFR and oncogene-driven lung cancer field as a whole, and also the future of the field and what can be done to move the needle for patients. At the EGFR tribute session on the past, speakers included:
  • Roy Herbst, Yale Cancer Center
  • Daniel Haber, Massachusetts General Cancer Center, Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research
  • Matthew Meyerson, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School
  • William Pao, Revelio Therapeutics
  • Lecia Sequist, Massachusetts General Cancer Center