Day one
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Following a welcome and opening remarks from Professors Michael Seckl (Imperial College, London, UK) and Gordon McVie (King's College, London, UK), day one of the meeting began with a talk from Professor Julian Downward (Francis Crick Institute, London, UK) kicking off the first session 'NSCLC biology and new therapies'. Setting the scene, he shared some of the alarming statistics surrounding lung cancer before outlining the theme that would carry through the duration of his presentation; we need better therapies based on a deeper understanding of pathology. His talk focused on animal models of lung cancer and how they have progressed over the years. He talked about RAS mutations and their centrality to lung cancer, introducing the KRAS LA2 and KRAS LSL mouse models that are able toby successive pulls on a trigger mechanism, thereby tightening the loop. However, the process of tightening the loop through successive pulls on the trigger mechanism is time consuming and the animal must therefore be restrained for a relatively long period of time. In addition, the tension which can be imparted to the band, and the tightness of the loop, are limited by the hand strength of the user, the length of the rod, etc. Moreover, relatively large frictional and abrasive forces are exerted on the band where the band is attached to the tightening rod, thereby increasing the likelihood of damage to the elastomeric material, causing breakage before the desired tension is achieved. Additionally, due to the design of the ligature tool, an operator is limited in the