Gordana Drpa

The nomination is a great tribute to me and my team, who have worked under difficult conditions for almost two years

One of the finalists in the field of Pulmonology and Allergology is Croatian clinical pulmonologist and thoracic oncologist Gordana Drpa, MD. She works in the Department of Respiratory Diseases Jordanovac in the Thoracic Oncology Unit at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb. As a finalist, she is honoured to be recognized in such a fierce competition.

In her daily work, Gordana Drpa, MD, is interested in rare lung diseases and the effects of drugs on the lungs. She believes that great progress has been made in the treatment of lung cancer in general, but small cell lung cancer remains one of the most aggressive malignancies with a very high mortality rate. That is why her research focuses precisely on this type of tumour.

The aim of the research was to find certain simple laboratory parameters that have a prognostic impact and could help choose the best therapeutic approach for patients with small cell lung cancer, contributing to personalised therapy. We found that neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio could be a good prognostic marker in the group of patients with extensive disease.

She loves spending her free time with her family.