1. Introduction |
The Recommendations for a Global Curriculum in Medical Oncology are a set of
common guidelines with a global perspective for the clinical training required for physicians to qualify as medical oncologist. The overall goal of the curriculum is to ensure that patients, wherever they live, have an equal chance of receiving treatment from well-trained physicians. |
In the years since the first edition of the ESMO/ASCO Global Core Curriculum (GCC)
for the training in medical oncology (1, 2) was published by both societies in 2004, the Global Core Curriculum (GGC) Task Force has received feedback from all over the world, representing a variety of perspectives and experiences; various, mainly due to the variable status of cancer care around the globe, the diversity of health systems in different countries, and the varying degree to which Medical Oncology is established as a medical specialty in these countries. The curriculum is used in different settings in a number of countries, and it has been published in 11 different languages (Bulgarian, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish) (3, 4). In addition, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) has endorsed the curriculum. |
The chapters included in this second edition of the curriculum are based on contributions
from esteemed colleagues around the world and shaped to a significant degree by the rapid advances in the management of patients with malignant diseases in the short time since the first edition was produced. Treatment options now comprise increased use of multidisciplinary treatment and more specific treatment approaches for the individual patient as a result of research in molecular biology (e.g., targeted therapy). The GCC Task Force therefore felt it was timely to update the curriculum content. |
The updated Curriculum represents a broad range of recommendations to be adopted by
national educational and health bodies according to the resources and conditions of their country. The diversity of health and educational systems around the world may render some Curriculum recommendations aspirational at this stage, even for those systems with well-developed training programs in Medical Oncology. Reflecting this aspirational nature of the recommendations, the Task Force has renamed the updated curriculum from Global Core Curriculum to Global Curriculum. |
The number of patients with malignancies in the world continues to increase. It is
estimated that more than 12 million new cases are diagnosed every year and the corresponding estimates for total cancer deaths is 7.6 million per year (about 20,000 cancer deaths a day) (5). The last decades have seen a rapid growth in medical technology and advances in our fundamental knowledge of cancer cell biology, with impacts on genetics, screening, early diagnosis, staging, and overall treatment of cancer. These developments have also led to a more coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to the management of the individual malignancy and have only increased the need to establish formal training based on a set of guidelines or a curriculum in the various major specialities such as surgery, radiotherapy, and medical oncology. |