Eight-Year Experience of the Certificate of Competence and Advanced Studies Program Organized by the European School of Oncology.

The Certificate of Competence and Advanced Studies Program is an academically recognized postgraduate program that is organized by the European School of Oncology in collaboration with the University of Ulm and the University of Zurich. It is a part-time educational activity that aims to provide physicians and scientists with advanced knowledge in the management of patients with breast cancer, lymphoma, and lung cancer. The program encloses three attendance seminars and four to five e-learning modules that extend over 12 to 14 months. To be certified, participants have to pass an online test after each module followed by a final certification exam at the end of the program. This article reports on the 8-year experience of the 166 graduated fellows who have attended the program.

The Contribution of the European School Of Oncology Education to the Central Asian and Caucasian Regions.

The European School of Oncology (ESO) organizes educational activities within Europe, the Mediterranean region, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. In this paper, we report on the participation of oncologists from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia in various ESO activities including the masterclass, courses, refresher courses, conventions, conferences, consensus conferences, clinical training centers fellowship program, and the medical students' courses in oncology. Over the last 15 years, 428 oncologists and medical students have successfully attended one or more of the above activities organized in various European countries. This article details the implementation and coordination of the ESO educational events in the Central Asian and the Caucasian regions.

Educational contribution of the College of the European School of Oncology to the Latin American Oncologists.

The European School of Oncology (ESO) offers a wide range of educational activities in Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. International experts are invited to provide proper education in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cancer according to a holistic model of care. This activity is currently structured in the ESO College (ESCO) through masterclasses in clinical oncology, international conferences, clinical training centers fellowship programs, certificate of competence and advanced studies, patients' advocacy events, e-learning sessions and medical students' courses in oncology. This institutional profile highlights the ESO-ESCO educational activities dedicated to Latin American oncologists and reports on the experience of the 869 participants that have attended these programs.

The management of patients with cancer of unknown primary in middle-income countries: an ESO-AROME survey.

Aim: To report on the management strategies in patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) in middle-income countries. Methods: We conceived a survey of 20 items concerning the management of patients with CUP in daily clinical practice. Only participants from lower- and higher-middle-income countries, as per the World Bank Classification, were eligible for this study. Results: The indications for the first-line treatment did not differ between the two economic regions, whereas those for second-line treatment were more prevalent in higher-middle-income countries. The use of targeted therapy based on immunohistochemistry alone was higher in lower-middle-income countries, although the access to CUP classifiers was similar between the two regions. Conclusions: Proper recommendations must ensure that the economic burden is minimized and that other benefits outweigh the limited survival benefit achieved in patients with CUP.

Clinical Case Presentation and Discussion During ESO-ESMO Masterclass: a 10-Year Interactive Educational Experience.

In this article, we report on the clinical case presentations that have been delivered during the ESO or ESO-ESMO Masterclasses in Clinical Oncology in the last 10 years. Masterclasses have been held in three different geographical continents including Europe, Middle East, and Latin America, in which participants had to submit a clinical case and present it either in front of a tumor board (multidisciplinary-like sessions) or in small groups. Clinical case presentation is a unique part of the educational program preparing young oncologists to present and discuss their own patients with distinguished experts. In each Masterclass, between 40 and 55 clinical cases-depending on the number of participants-are presented. All presentations are assessed and evaluated by faculty members as well as by the rest of the participants.

The clinical training centers fellowships: a European School of Oncology career development program (2013-2019).

Aim: This article refers to the European School of Oncology Clinical Training Centers (CTCs) program, which is a granted Fellowships program dedicated to young oncologists in training. Materials & methods: A total of 74 fellowships were offered by several CTCs during the last 7 years. Candidates were enrolled for 3-6 months of training rotations as fellows or observers in more than 30 training programs in well known Cancer Centers around Europe. Fellowships were covering medical, surgical, radiation and pediatric oncology specialties, laboratory diagnostic training and experimental, translational and clinical research. Fellows originated from Europe, Latin America and Mediterranean Africa. Results: Analysis of the questionnaire assessment showed that 95.5% of the fellows evaluated CTC programs with an 'excellent' or 'very good' score, while 100% declare that they had reached their objectives. Conclusion: The European School of Oncology CTC program designed for an additional practical education abroad meets the needs of young oncologists.

The impact of the European School of Oncology masterclass in clinical oncology on self-professional development.

We investigated the impact of the European School of Oncology's (ESO) Masterclass (MCO) in Clinical Oncology on the career development of young participants. MCO represents the flagship educational activity of ESO and is organized annually, mostly in collaboration with the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in five different geographical regions. A questionnaire consisting of 21 questions was sent to all doctors who attended the ESO MCOs from 2009 to 2016. The 228 responders were mostly from European countries and hold the specialty of Medical Oncology. Ninety-five percent of them evaluated ESO MCOs as "extremely useful" or "useful" for their professional career. Around 60% were trained at University Hospitals or Cancer Institutes and currently, one-third of them are employed in Academic Centers. Eighty percent have performed translational or clinical research and 77.5% were able to publish in pertinent international journals. The contribution of ESO MCOs to trainees' career development in different oncology disciplines around the world is discussed.

Changing the education paradigm in oncology: ESO masterclass, 17 years of continuous success.

In this review, we summarize the history of the 41 Masterclasses in Clinical Oncology (MCO) organized by ESO or ESO-ESMO during the last 17 years. MCOs have been held in five different geographical regions including: a) Central Europe, b) Eastern Europe and Balkans, c) Baltic and Euroasia, d) Arab World and Southern European Countries and e) Latin America. More than 2.000 young oncologists have attended and more than 250 distinguished faculty members have actively participated. The program exposes students to sessions covering all major tumors ("big killers") and to spotlights updating information on various important cancers and related topics. Participants are able to present their own clinical case in front of a tumor board or in parallel group sessions and are evaluated by a Learning Assessment Test (LAT) at the end of the event. They are asked to discuss the programme, using a questionnaire on the goals, quality and organization of the MCOs, which has been very highly scored by most of the participants. The Masterclass in Clinical Oncology has become the major educational event of ESO, intending to educate young oncologists from various countries within or outside Europe, providing an up-to-date interactive program based on solid evidence for all presented topics.