Lung cancer specialists from all over Europe will arrive in Dublin today to highlight the plight of the killer disease.
Around 400 delegates representing all disciplines in lung cancer treatment and care will attend the sixth annual conference of the British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG).
Lung cancer is globally the most common fatal malignant disease, with more than 1,800 new cases diagnosed in Ireland in 2005.
The overall five-year survival rate in the country is only 10 per ent - with approximately 1,500 people dying from the illness every year.
Medical and clinical oncologists, respiratory physicians, thoracic surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, nurses, pharmacists and scientists will be among the specialists discussing the role of novel molecular biology technological methods in improving early diagnosis.
Giving the right treatment to the right patient and optimal management of lung cancer disease related symptoms will also come under the spotlight.
The conference, being held over the next three days at Clontarf Castle Hotel, was organised by BTOG in association with the All Ireland Lung Cancer Forum, the Irish Cancer Society, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
The primary aim of BTOG is to improve the care of patients with thoracic malignancies through multidisciplinary clinical and scientific research and education.