LAUSR

The aims of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Lung Science Conference (LSC) are three-fold: to present the very best of international lung science research; to highlight new discoveries likely to have an impact on the future of respiratory medicine; and to encourage debate and interaction between emerging investigators and established leaders in the field. The 15th ERS LSC, held in Estoril, Portugal, on March 23–26, 2017, was focused on the mechanistic overlap between chronic lung injury and cancer. Epidemiological studies have shown increased risk of lung cancer development in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as an independent risk factor [1, 2]. Studies dating back to 1977 had already made the link and concluded that “lung cancer and COPD share a common familial pathogenetic component associated with pulmonary dysfunction” [2]. More recent studies have confirmed this pathogenetic overlap with the observation that common bronchial epithelial gene expression signatures exist for (ex)-smoking and squamous cell lung cancer [3]. Emerging evidence suggests that progressive lung scarring in the context of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) similarly represents a risk factor for lung carcinogenesis, although causality remains to be definitively established [4], Given that chronic lung diseases such as COPD and IPF occur more frequently in elderly individuals, and that the hallmarks of ageing are closely linked with the hallmarks of cancer development [5], such an overlap is perhaps not entirely surprising. Nonetheless, only limited genetic and mechanistic studies on the specific overlap between chronic lung disease and cancer have been reported, underscoring the urgent need for further scientific investigation in this area. The 15th ERS LSC was entirely dedicated to this topic, aiming to foster scientific interactions in order to move this exciting and rapidly evolving concept forward, with a view to developing effective therapeutic approaches for the many patients affected. Highlights of the LSC 2017 and introduction to five mini-reviews in this issue of the ERR http://ow.ly/mL3Q30coNjY