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History

 A resource. A collaborator.
A home for the global lung cancer community. 

For more than 45 years,
the IASLC has helped shape the field of lung cancer care.

The IASLC's History

In 1972, in response to the overwhelming need for collaboration and a growing concern for public health, Drs. David T. Carr, Oleg S. Selawry, Lawrence Broder, Clifton Mountain and George Higgins began building an international, multidisciplinary organization. In 1974, the group launched the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) at their first formal meeting in Florence, Italy, having recruited more than 250 founding members from across the globe and with different perspectives.

Since then, the IASLC has grown into a professional, international organization of more than 8,000 members. Global experts have come to rely on the IASLC’s World Conference on Lung Cancer, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, as well as on its scientific programs and educational events to inform their practice of medicine, research and patient care. From doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to scientists, patients and advocates, the IASLC continues to unite people around the goal of eradicating lung and thoracic cancers.

History of the IASLC
World Conference on Lung Cancer

70s1st-wclc

Each year, the IASLC hosts its signature event, the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC). The inaugural WCLC brought together a small collection of specialists on Hilton Head Island in 1978. 

Over 40 years later, the WCLC has become the largest global event dedicated solely to lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, attracting over 7,000 attendees from across the lung cancer community, including physicians, 
investigators, nurses, allied health professionals, survivors and patients. 

 

WCLC2018

In 2019, the IASLC held its 20th WCLC in Barcelona, Spain, drawing a record-breaking 7,750 attendees from over 100 countries. 

And in January of 2021, the WCLC will be held in Singapore. 

Through the hard work of the IASLC leadership and staff, as well as our local organizing committee, the meeting will undoubtedly serve as an invaluable resource for the continuing education of the global lung cancer community. 

For more information about this year's WCLC, please visit the WCLC website. 

Past and Future World Conferences

  • IASLC 1st World Conference on Lung Cancer
    1978 | Hilton Head, SC, U.S.A 
  • IASLC 2nd World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    1980 | Copenhagen, Denmark
  • IASLC 3rd World Conference on Lung Cancer
    1982 | Tokyo, Japan
  • IASLC 4th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    1985 | Toronto, Canada
  • IASLC 5th World Conference on Lung Cancer
    1988 | Interlaken, Switzerland
  • IASLC 6th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    1991 | Melbourne, Australia
  • IASLC 7th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    1994 | Colorado Springs, CO, U.S.A
  • IASLC 8th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    1997 | Dublin, Ireland 
  • IASLC 9th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2000 | Tokyo, Japan
  • IASLC 10th World Conference on Lung Cancer  
    2003 | Vancouver, Canada
  • IASLC 11th World Conference on Lung Cancer  
    2005 | Barcelona, Spain 
  • IASLC 12th World Conference on Lung Cancer  
    2007 | Seoul, South Korea 
  • IASLC 13th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2009 | San Francisco, California 
  • IASLC 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer
    2011 | Amsterdam, The Netherlands  
  • IASLC 15th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2013 | Sydney, Australia 
  • IASLC 16th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2015 | Denver, CO, U.S.A 
  • IASLC 17th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2016 | Vienna, Austria 
  • IASLC 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2017 | Yokohama, Japan
  • IASLC 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2018 | Toronto, Canada 
  • IASLC 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2019 | Barcelona, Spain
  • IASLC 2020 World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2020 | Singapore
  • IASLC 2021 World Conference on Lung Cancer 
    2021 | Denver, CO
  • IASLC 2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer
    2022 | Vienna, Austria

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