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The role of sex and gender in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer: the 6th ICAPEM Annual Symposium

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Abstract

The incidence and mortality of lung cancer in women are rising, with both increasing by 124% between 2003 and 2019. The main risk factor for lung cancer is tobacco use, but indoor radon gas exposure is one of the leading causes in nonsmokers. The most recent evidence demonstrates that multiple factors can make women more susceptible to harm from these risk factors or carcinogens. For this consensus statement, the Association for Lung Cancer Research in Women (ICAPEM) invited a group of lung cancer experts to perform a detailed gender-based analysis of lung cancer. Clinically, female patients have different lung cancer profiles, and most actionable driver alterations are more prevalent in women, particularly in never-smokers. Additionally, the impact of certain therapies seems to be different. In the future, it will be necessary to carry out specific studies to improve the understanding of the role of certain biomarkers and gender in the prognosis and evolution of lung cancer.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the editorial assistance of Marta Bosch of HealthCo Trials (Madrid, Spain) in the drafting of this manuscript.

Funding

ICAPEM acknowledges the financial support for this project in the form of unrestricted collaboration in the logistics from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and Roche.

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All authors contributed to the study concept and design. All authors participated in the writing of the first draft of the manuscript, commented on the following draft versions and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Nuria Viñolas.

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N Viñolas declares no conflict of interest. L Mezquita has not received any funding related to the content of this paper. J Corral has received education grants, provided consultation, attended advisory boards, and/or provided lectures for Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffmann-La Roche, Janssen-Cilag, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. J Corral declares no conflict of interest. M Cobo has received consultancy or advisory roles from AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen-Cilag, Kyowa, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company; has received research funding from Bristol-Myers Squibb; and has made speaking and public presentations on behalf of AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen-Cilag, Kyowa, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Novocure, Pierre Fabre, Sanofi, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. F Gil-Moncayo declares no conflict of interest. L Paz-Ares has not received any funding related to the content of this paper. J Remon has not received any funding related to the content of this paper. M Rodríguez has received consultant fees from Abex and AstraZeneca. She has also received a grant from Intuitive Surgical not related to the current manuscript. A Ruano has not received any funding related to the content of this paper. He has received public funds to conduct research on lung cancer from different competitive grants awarded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and other public entities. E Conde has received research funding from Eli Lilly and Company, Roche, and Thermo Fisher Scientific and honoraria, consulting and/or travel support from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Janssen-Cilag, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Pfizer, Roche, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. M Majem has received consultancy or advisory roles from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Helsinn Therapeutics, Janssen Oncology, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Pierre Fabre, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company; research funding from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Roche; and travel and accommodations expenses from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, and Roche. P Garrido has received consultancy or advisory services from AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen-Cilag, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company and has made speaking and public presentations on behalf of Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Janssen-Cilag, Medscape, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, and TouchTime. E Felip has received grants or research funding contracts related to Oncology Innovation from Merck Healthcare KGaA and Fundación Merck Salud; consulting fees from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, BerGenBio, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffmann-La Roche, Janssen-Cilag, Merck Serono, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Peptomyc, Pfizer, Sanofi, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company; and payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscripts writing or educational events from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Hoffmann-La Roche, Janssen-Cilag, Medical Trends, Medscape, Merck Serono, Merck Sharp & Dohme, PeerVoice, Pfizer, Sanofi, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, and Touch Oncology. E Felip is an independent member of the board of Grifols. D Isla has not received any funding related to the content of this paper. J de Castro has not received any funding related to the content of this paper.

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Viñolas, N., Mezquita, L., Corral, J. et al. The role of sex and gender in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer: the 6th ICAPEM Annual Symposium. Clin Transl Oncol 26, 352–362 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-023-03262-x

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