ITMIG 2017 | Prof. Nicolas Girard: cooperation network and database of thymic malignancy research

Expert introduction

Nicolas Girard (Figure 1) is Professor of Respiratory Medicine and Thoracic Oncology at the Claude Bernard University in Lyon, France, and Head of the Thorax Institute Curie Montsouris in Paris. Nicolas Girard, as vice president of ITMIG from 2010 to 2014, has served in several committees, including the prospective database, the virtual tumor bank, and the research committees; more recently he has been involved in the development of the biology/basic science group. Nicolas Girard is coordinator of RYTHMIC, a French nationwide network for the management of these tumors.

Figure 1 Prof. Nicolas Girard.

Editor’s note

The 8th International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group Annual Meeting (ITMIG 2017) was held from September 21–23, 2017 in Turin, Italy. This important conference highlighted the latest scientific and clinical developments related to the management of thymic malignancies and brought together established scientists and clinicians from all over the world who have interest in the field of thymic cancers research. The meeting was a great success. It was a great honor for the editorial team of Mediastinum to attend the meeting and conduct a brief interview (Figure 2) with Prof. Nicolas Girard who had two presentations on “From the Old to the New: The EURACAN Project” and “Use of Targeted Therapy in TET Including Incorporation of TCGA and Molecular Data on TET to Inform Next Trials” during the meeting. Prof. Girard had shared with us his impression of Turin, the cooperation network and database as well as his knowledge and experience in thymic malignancies research.

Figure 2 ITMIG 2017 | Prof. Nicolas Girard: cooperation network and database of thymic malignancy research (1). Available online: http://asvidett.amegroups.com/article/view/14163

Summary of the interview

Prof. Girard believes this annual meeting is an opportunity to meet the experts and discuss the ITMIG projects. They have international prospective database of more than one thousand cases and many ongoing projects. The ITMIG meeting is a time when they can present the achievements of the year and what they can do as a group. They discuss questions and programs in different sections with multidisciplinary experts and move forward together in the research of thymic diseases.

During the interview, Prof. Girard also shared with us some hot issues of thymic malignancy research. Thymic malignancy is kind of rare disease, so collaboration is of great importance. In France, they have network: RYTHMIC (Réseau tumeurs THYMiques et Cancer), a French nationwide network for TET with the objective of territorial coverage by regional expert centers and systematic discussion of patient management at a single national tumor board. Among 5 years, more than 2,000 patients are included in the prospective database and are discussed among a national tumor board. It is a unique opportunity to study the treatment and outcomes of patients. Physicians in France treat the patients respectively under the single guideline and all the patients are treated the same. It is a good way to access what they are doing, instead of randomized trial, which is very challenging.

In his opinion, one of the important progresses of ITMIG is that they published a series of papers on standard definitions in 2011. And the second achievement is the staging process made by ITMIG.

Prof. Girard has also introduced EURACAN network, which is a pan-European network. The EURACAN network includes a specific domain for rare thoracic cancers. EURACAN represents an opportunity for patients to get access to optimal treatment anywhere in Europe, to disseminate best practices and innovative approaches, and to develop research projects.

At the end of the interview, Prof. Girard gives his comments and suggestions for the new journal Mediastinum. It is good to see the new journal Mediastinum dedicated to mediastinal tumors. It is a good opportunity to publish congress reports of high-level discussions in the meeting to reach more readers. It is also important to publish typical and more complex cases to find the best management for specific situations.

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Mediastinum. The article did not undergo external peer review.

Conflicts of Interest: Both authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/med.2017.11.06). JW and AL are full-time employees of AME Publishing Company (publisher of the journal). The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

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References

1. Wang J, Lu A. ITMIG 2017 | Prof. Nicolas Girard: cooperation network and database of thymic malignancy research. Asvide 2018;5:004. Available online: http://asvidett.amegroups.com/article/view/14163

(Science Editor: Julia Wang, Anne Lu, Mediastinum, med@amegroups.com)