科学无国界，共筑肺癌防治新格局——IASLC核心领导层高峰对话
从首尔到世界——2026 WCLC第一印象
《肿瘤瞭望》：首先，请您分享下，从整体议程设置来看，今年WCLC大会最让您感到“超出预期”的亮点是什么？
Karen Kelly教授：首先，真正令我振奋的是，科学正在转化为疗效卓越的药物。我们看到了小细胞肺癌（SCLC）方面突破性进展——两种靶向B7-H3的抗体药物偶联物（ADC）相继公布重磅数据，为小细胞肺癌（SCLC）二线治疗提供了新的标准治疗选择。SCLC曾长期被美国国家癌症研究所（NCI）称为“难治性疾病”，这一局面已持续30余年。我们团队也长期致力于该领域探索，深知其突破之艰难。直到近几年，SCLC治疗才真正迎来转机。我认为，这一突破的意义甚至不亚于当年免疫检查点抑制剂（ICI）带来的首次变革。
与此同时，本届大会也充分体现了国际肺癌研究协会（IASLC）的多学科属性。例如，大会首日主席研讨会的第一位讲者聚焦预防性颅脑照射（PCI）的作用。而我现在也认为，PCI尤其对局限期患者而言将不再是标准治疗。能够见证本届世界肺癌大会（WCLC）上呈现这些里程碑式研究，我深感自豪。接下来，我们还将看到更多非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）的重要研究。科学始终是第一位的，而科学突破也会促进交流与合作，为全球成员和患者带来协作、全球化与整体化的体验。
Alex A. Adjei教授：正如Karen Kelly教授所言，本届大会的重要价值在于全球性与多学科性。长期以来，抗肿瘤新药研发的主要力量集中在欧美。因此，令人瞩目的是，本届大会上两项备受关注的ADC研究由中国学者主导研发和开展临床试验。这说明，全球创新格局正在发生变化。我们需要利用来自不同地区的科学进展，推动治疗进步。这一点非常令人振奋。值得一提的是其中一项研究ADC药物已成功实现商业化“出海”，并计划在国际开展临床研究，包括美国、欧洲等地。
周彩存教授：目前这两项研究主要在中国开展。我期待未来能够获得全球多中心数据。如果该药能够改变SCLC的全球实践，我希望它不仅能在中国获批，也能通过全球研究惠及更多患者。这正是本届大会的主题——科学无国界。全球患者都应从创新治疗中获益，这一点非常重要。未来，我认为全球协作至关重要，我们应推动全球同步试验，以缩短创新药物可及时间。
ONCOLOGY FRONTIER：The 2026 WCLC in Seoul has unveiled numerous landmark studies and introduced significant innovations in agenda design. From the perspective of the overall program, what aspects of this year’s congress have most exceeded your expectations?
Prof. Karen Kelly：What I’m really excited about, first of all, is the science that is now translating into remarkable drugs that are efficacious for our patients. Today, we heard about small cell lung cancer—two ADC drugs that, in my opinion, will become a standard of care in the second-line setting in a disease that the National Cancer Institute in the United States has called a recalcitrant disease for many years, over 30 years.
I myself have been doing this work for that long as well. Breaking through in small cell lung cancer was only truly possible a few years ago. I would say that the science today, the breakthroughs today, are even more remarkable than our first breakthrough with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
I’m also pleased that the conference represents the IASLC in terms of being multidisciplinary. Our first presidential speaker today spoke about the role of prophylactic cranial irradiation, which I now also believe will no longer be a standard, particularly for patients with limited-stage disease. I’m very proud that the IASLC and WCLC were able to host these—what I would call—landmark studies here and tomorrow. We’re going to hear more landmark studies in non-small cell lung cancer. The science comes first, but the science is motivating and inspirational, and then it leads to networking. And I would say it creates a collaborative, global, holistic experience for our members and for our patients around the world.
Prof. Alex A. Adjei：Yes, I wanted to follow up on that, because what’s important in this conference, as Dr. Kelly said, is that we are global and we are multidisciplinary. It’s no secret that for a long time, most advances in cancer treatment with new drugs came from the West—the US or Europe. So it’s striking that two of these exciting ADCs were developed and tested in China. For that reason, it’s important that we take advantage of advances from every corner. That point will lead to progress in treatment. So that was striking, and I was really excited to see that.
Prof. Caicun Zhou：These two trials were started only in China. I would prefer to see global data. I heard this compound could change global practice for small cell lung cancer. This compound will be approved in China, but I hope we will have more and more global studies, not just China-only studies. That is the theme of the conference: Science Without Boundaries. I would say that this compound could serve our global patients. That’s very important.
Prof. Alex A. Adjei：And to add to that, I know the second compound—the one presented by Professor Wang Jie—was acquired by GSK. After that, we are going to open a study at Cleveland Clinic, so they are opening studies in the US and Europe and so on.
Prof. Caicun Zhou：In future, we should be able to do one trial to save time, so that the compound will become available in our market much sooner. So, many—let’s go together.
全球理事会——IASLC 治理结构的里程碑
《肿瘤瞭望》：请您分享下设立全球理事会的初衷是什么？您认为未来全球肺癌领域最需要优先解决的具体问题是什么？IASLC 立全球理事会可以在哪些方面发挥更实际的作用？
Karen Kelly教授：作为拥有124个以上国家成员的国际组织，IASLC必须倾听全球成员的声音。当前，创新药物、筛查和早期检测均取得进展，但IASLC的使命是服务全球患者，因此必须了解各地区面临的实际问题。全球理事会首次会议给我留下深刻印象，新代表们非常投入，并围绕早期检测和筛查进行了调研。调查显示，早期检测和筛查是当前最受关注的优先事项。需要强调的是，这只是全球理事会的第一阶段，未来还会有更多国家参与。
从成员构成看，全球理事会涵盖外科、病理、肿瘤内科和呼吸科等多个学科，兼具地域和学科多样性。我们希望成员在IASLC中拥有发言权，并感受到自身价值。首次会议非常成功，但这只是第一步。未来，全球理事会还可以承担更多工作。
Alex A. Adjei教授：与所有国际学会一样，IASLC理事会成员虽代表不同区域，但我们希望代表全球所有患者。因此，IASLC不仅要向成员传递信息，也要倾听成员声音。全球理事会的设计是：至少有20名IASLC成员的国家可选派代表，将本国意见和建议带到理事会，使学会能够回应成员认为重要的问题。此前的调查已帮助我们了解成员最关注的议题。通过这一机制，IASLC可以更好地倾听所有国家成员的声音，并据此推动工作。
周彩存教授：作为国际学会，IASLC应重视不同国家的声音。目前，欧美和亚洲部分国家成员的声音容易被听到，而低收入国家的声音往往不足。全球理事会的目标，就是找到合适的代表，让这些国家的声音被听见。他们最了解本国的优先事项，也能告诉我们需要提供哪些支持。如果癌症只能在部分国家治愈，而不能在全球范围内改善，就不能称为成功。因此，国际学会必须推动全球合作。
ONCOLOGY FRONTIER：Could you share the original vision behind establishing the Global Council? What are the most urgent priorities for global lung cancer care, and how can the Global Council help address them?
Prof. Karen Kelly：I think, as we’ve already said, we are a global organization with members from over 124 countries. Therefore, it’s really critical that we hear everybody’s voices. Now more than ever, because we do have great drugs, and we do have innovations in screening and early detection. Our mission is to help patients everywhere around the world. But we have to understand the issues and the problems. We just came from our first meeting of the Global Council, and I can tell you that I was astonished by how passionate our new delegates are. We put them to work in the meeting, and they already did an exercise around early detection and screening. We had done a survey with them. I just want to make a side point that this is only phase one of the Global Council. We still have many countries to ask whether they want to participate. Nonetheless, when we did the survey, at the top of that list was early detection and screening opportunity. We did an exercise around that and around how we can start working as a global entity that really speaks to who the IASLC is. That’s who we are.
But it was also—we have surgeons on the Global Council, a pathologist, a medical oncologist, pulmonary doctors—so we have diversity in our Global Council members in disciplines. And as I said, in countries and regions. So I think we had a highly successful first meeting of the Global Council, but it really just is who we are. We want to always make sure that our members have a voice and feel valued in this organization. And I really got the feeling today that they felt so valued by having their voices heard. So this is just step one. I think the Global Council—there are so many things we can do even beyond what the vision was in the beginning.
Prof. Alex A. Adjei：Yes, if I may add something: like all societies, we have board members from all over the globe, but obviously they represent regions. We want to represent everybody, all patients from around the world. One of the ways to do it is not just from the Board of Directors down to the members, but also to hear from the members. So the idea of the Global Council is to have representation from countries that have at least 20 members of IASLC. The person on the Global Council represents that country and brings their ideas and suggestions to the Board, so that we can address the things our members think are important. Because we can decide what we think is important, but we need to know what they think. There was a survey that gave us an idea of what the members think are the most important things, so that we address them. That’s how, as much as possible, we can have a society that hears from all our members, from all the countries, and that helps drive what we do.
Prof. Caicun Zhou：Because we are in an international situation, and we are an international society, we should pay attention to each voice from different countries. We have many members in the United States, in Europe, in Asia; their voices are easily heard. We don’t know the voices in small countries, especially low-income countries. The Global Council tries to find the right people to represent their country. So their voices are very important. We don’t know the situation; they are far away. These people can tell us what their priority is, what we can do for them. If cancer can be cured in some countries but not globally, we cannot claim success. As a society, we need to work together.
JTO 20周年——见证肺癌学科发展之路
《肿瘤瞭望》：今年是Journal of Thoracic Oncology（JTO）创刊 20 周年。请您分享下，过去20年间JTO见证了肺癌学科的哪些里程碑式成就？哪些关键研究真正改变了全球临床实践？
Alex A. Adjei教授：在全球范围内，JTO发表的两类工作对肺癌诊疗标准产生了深远影响。第一类是TNM分期手册。第9版分期已成为全球标准，目前我们正在制定第10版，并进一步将影像学信息纳入预后分期。第二类是病理委员会制定的肺癌病理分类。围绕这两类工作的系列文章，是改变肺癌治疗实践最具影响力的研究。
如果举出一项我个人非常自豪的研究，那就是JTO率先发表了新冠肺炎死亡患者的病理发现。这是首批相关病例之一。作者原本可以选择《柳叶刀》或《新英格兰医学杂志》，但他们希望快速发表，因此联系了JTO。我们完成审稿、修回，并在7天内发表。这项研究在当时对全球认识新冠肺炎具有重要意义。该研究作者原籍中国，现就职于美国伊利诺伊大学，疫情初期曾在中国参与相关工作。从稿件来源看，中国目前排名第二，仅次于美国。
《肿瘤瞭望》：您如何评价JTO等国际顶级期刊在推动中国研究者走向国际学术舞台过程中所发挥的作用？
周彩存教授：JTO是IASLC的官方期刊，属于全体成员。它坚持多学科方向，能够发表高质量科学。中国医生在JTO和JTO Clinical and Research Reports（JTO CRR）上发表了很多文章。随着期刊影响力提升，普通稿件发表难度也在增加。让中国研究被国际同行认可，对我们是重要的鼓励。
《肿瘤瞭望》：作为IASLC官方期刊，您如何评价JTO在过去20年间对学会使命实现的系统性贡献？
Karen Kelly教授：JTO体现了IASLC的地域多样性和学科多样性。翻阅JTO，可以看到来自中国、欧洲、美国等地的研究，也可以看到不同学科的声音。这正体现了IASLC的定位。Alex A. Adjei教授作为JTO主编，投入了大量热情和远见，将期刊提升到新的高度。我们非常幸运，由他担任JTO主编，并将出任IASLC候任主席。
ONCOLOGY FRONTIER：This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. What would you identify as the most significant milestones in lung cancer that JTO has chronicled over the past 20 years? Which studies have truly reshaped global clinical practice?
Prof. Alex A. Adjei：I have to say that globally, the two things that JTO has published—which is due to our members—set the standard and changed how we treat lung cancer. The staging manuals, where we do the T and M staging of lung cancer, 9th edition. Now we are going to the 10th edition; we incorporate imaging science into the staging, which is prognostic. And then the other thing is the Pathology Committee and the pathology classification of lung cancer. Those series, in my mind, are two of the most impactful sets of manuscripts that changed lung cancer treatment.
But if I am to name one study I’m very proud of, we were the first to publish the pathologic findings of a patient who died from COVID. That was one of the first cases. The reason I’m so proud of that is that the authors contacted us—they could have gone to Lancet or the New England Journal of Medicine—but they contacted us because they wanted to get the paper out quickly. They submitted the paper. We reviewed it, they revised it, and we published it in seven days. So I’m very proud to have published the first pathologic finding. This was a professor originally from China, who is at the University of Illinois, who had been in China at the beginning—not in Wuhan—and became part of the COVID epidemic. Obviously, if you remember that time, we didn’t know anything about the disease, so that publication was really important for an event that has changed all of us.
ONCOLOGY FRONTIER：How would you assess the role of journals like JTO in bringing Chinese investigators onto the international stage?
Prof. Caicun Zhou：I would say that JTO is ours—our journal. It’s for our members. It’s multidisciplinary. It can publish good science. We used to publish a lot, but now it’s not easy to get an ordinary manuscript published. Indeed, Chinese doctors published a lot in JTO and JTO CRR. Because after this publication, their work has been accepted for a long time. But as a doctor, I would say it’s good to enrich and make Chinese work recognized by Dr. Alex Adjei, Dr. Karen Kelly, and so many others. That’s very important for us.
ONCOLOGY FRONTIER：As the official journal of IASLC, how would you evaluate JTO’s contribution to the Society‘s mission over the past two decades? What are your thoughts on JTO’s future direction?
Prof. Karen Kelly：I think it really highlights, again, that global geographic diversity, but also the discipline diversity. If you just flip through it—I guess when we had paper copies, flip through it—and you’ll see China, you’ll see Europe, you’ll see the United States, you’ll see the different disciplines. It, again, is just a testament to who we are. And I have to really applaud Dr. Adjei. He has been so passionate as the JTO Editor and so visionary, and has really brought this journal to the highest level. And it’s really because of you, Alex. Because he is so dedicated and passionate. We are very fortunate to have Alex as the Editor-in-Chief of JTO and our next President.
Prof. Alex A. Adjei：So to follow up on that, in terms of what we do for Chinese investigators, actually manuscripts from China are number two. Number one is the US, number two is China. And I have to say that the numbers have increased. We are publishing a lot. Professor Zhou publishes a lot in JTO.
中国专场——从中国创新到全球实践
《肿瘤瞭望》：IASLC-CAALC-CSCO联合论坛已走过十多年历程，成为WCLC日程中独具特色的学术板块。作为联合论坛发展的见证者和推动者，相较于往届，本届“中国专场”在议程设置上有哪些革新？您认为这一平台在推动中国肺癌研究走向国际、促进国际学术交流方面发挥了怎样的作用？
周彩存教授：首先，感谢Karen Kelly教授及各方，与IASLC、中国肺癌防治联盟（CAALC）、中国临床肿瘤学会（CSCO）共同举办这一特别专场，集中展示中国研究成果。该专场为年轻医生提供了与顶尖专家交流的机会，有助于他们未来走向全球研究舞台。这对青年学者的成长非常重要。
《肿瘤瞭望》：在您看来，中国专场能持续吸引全球学者广泛参与的核心驱动因素是什么？其跨学会协作经验对IASLC推动与其他区域性学术组织的合作有何借鉴意义？
Karen Kelly教授：我非常喜欢这一专场。今年，我再次看到中国同事在药物研发和AI领域的领导力。年轻研究者的口头报告质量很高，科学内容扎实，会场座无虚席。这充分说明，中国同事正在药物研发和AI等方面发挥越来越重要的作用。明年，这一专场将移至更大的会场，因为不仅中国成员，全球成员都希望聆听、连接和合作。
《肿瘤瞭望》：您认为在WCLC这一全球学术平台上设立区域性联合论坛的意义是什么？这种设置对推动不同地区学者之间的学术交流与科研协作发挥了怎样的作用？
Alex A. Adjei教授：联合专场有助于展示高质量科学和早期职业研究者的工作，为他们提供在更大国际舞台报告的机会。同时，这也体现了IASLC的全球属性。与各国肺癌学会合作，有助于IASLC进一步扩大影响力。因此，这类专场具有重要价值。
ONCOLOGY FRONTIER：The IASLC-CAALC-CSCO Joint Symposium has been a distinctive feature of the WCLC program for over a decade, showcasing Chinese innovation while providing a platform for international exchange. As one who has witnessed and championed this symposium, what innovations stand out in this year’s program? How do you see this platform contributing to the globalization of Chinese research?
Prof. Caicun Zhou：At first, I’d like to thank Dr. Karen Kelly and everyone for actually doing this special symposium jointly with IASLC-CAALC-CSCO to present the research results, making the time collection with the big guys. I would say it’s a chance. During the collection, they will have a better future. They will go to global studies, enjoying the research. That’s very important for young doctors, especially for these guys.
ONCOLOGY FRONTIER：What makes it so appealing to global audiences? What lessons does this offer for IASLC‘s engagement with other regional organizations?
Prof. Karen Kelly：I really enjoy this session every year, and I particularly saw this year, again, the leadership of Chinese colleagues—not only in drug development but in AI. I really thought that was fascinating, the talks about that as well. I enjoyed the talks from the young investigators; we had two oral abstract sessions with young investigators. And I will say that they were very pristine, very polished. The science was good. So I really thought that is a fantastic session.
The room is always filled at that session, and it just really goes to show what Alex talked about in the beginning: how our Chinese colleagues are really helping lead the way to help our patients, not only in drug development but also in AI, which is very, very important to all of us around the world as well—not just drugs but AI as well. So I think it’s just going to grow. We know that we’re going to get a bigger room next year, because I think the number of not only Chinese but also our members around the world are very interested in hearing, connecting, and collaborating as well.
ONCOLOGY FRONTIER：What is the value of having a regional joint symposium within a global congress like WCLC? How does this format help foster collaboration across regions?
Prof. Alex A. Adjei：I think these joint sessions are really important in sometimes highlighting very good science and early-career investigators who may not necessarily get to present at other bigger meetings. I think the symbolism of saying IASLC is global—but for us to even grow bigger, and it’s kind of like the Global Council—it’s good to partner with national societies that also do cancer. So that one, that’s it.