TY - JOUR T1 - The European initiative for quality management in lung cancer care JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 1254 LP - 1277 DO - 10.1183/09031936.00106913 VL - 43 IS - 5 AU - Torsten G. Blum AU - Anna Rich AU - David Baldwin AU - Paul Beckett AU - Dirk De Ruysscher AU - Corinne Faivre-Finn AU - Mina Gaga AU - Fernando Gamarra AU - Bogdan Grigoriu AU - Niels C.G. Hansen AU - Richard Hubbard AU - Rudolf Maria Huber AU - Erik Jakobsen AU - Dragana Jovanovic AU - Assia Konsoulova AU - Jens Kollmeier AU - Gilbert Massard AU - John McPhelim AU - Anne-Pascale Meert AU - Robert Milroy AU - Marianne Paesmans AU - Mick Peake AU - Paul-Martin Putora AU - Arnaud Scherpereel AU - Nicolas Schönfeld AU - Helmut Sitter AU - Knut Skaug AU - Stephen Spiro AU - Trond-Eirik Strand AU - Samya Taright AU - Michael Thomas AU - Paul E. van Schil AU - Johan F. Vansteenkiste AU - Rainer Wiewrodt AU - Jean-Paul Sculier Y1 - 2014/05/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/43/5/1254.abstract N2 - Lung cancer is the commonest cause of cancer-related death worldwide and poses a significant respiratory disease burden. Little is known about the provision of lung cancer care across Europe. The overall aim of the Task Force was to investigate current practice in lung cancer care across Europe. The Task Force undertook four projects: 1) a narrative literature search on quality management of lung cancer; 2) a survey of national and local infrastructure for lung cancer care in Europe; 3) a benchmarking project on the quality of (inter)national lung cancer guidelines in Europe; and 4) a feasibility study of prospective data collection in a pan-European setting. There is little peer-reviewed literature on quality management in lung cancer care. The survey revealed important differences in the infrastructure of lung cancer care in Europe. The European guidelines that were assessed displayed wide variation in content and scope, as well as methodological quality but at the same time there was relevant duplication. The feasibility study demonstrated that it is, in principle, feasible to collect prospective demographic and clinical data on patients with lung cancer. Legal obligations vary among countries. The European Initiative for Quality Management in Lung Cancer Care has provided the first comprehensive snapshot of lung cancer care in Europe. European initiative on quality management in lung cancer: first systematic snapshot on lung cancer care in Europe http://ow.ly/tHfIF ER -