Clinical oncology and radiotherapy

The course is designed with a multidisciplinary approach integrating clinical oncology, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and psychology to address clical approach to oncologic patients. During the course students will -acquire the clinical "vocabulary" of clinical oncology, in order for students, whether as future general practioners or as non-cancer specialists, to be able to discuss cancer clinical cases with an oncology team on a multidisciplinary basis and/or to be proactive in counseling patients on treatment options in collaboration with an oncology team; - to advise patients on their lifestyles supporting behavioral change motivation, and early diagnosis choices, to properly refer patients when suspected or diagnosed with cancer or cancer risk, to share patient follow-up and surveillance with cancer institutions; - to be able to appreciate and start managing cancer-related emergencies and to share management of patients major complications from cancer and/or cancer treatment. - to acquire knowledge on the role of Molecular Pathology in oncology, spanning from implication of cancer molecular and morphological heterogeneity in acquired resistance to targeted therapies, to precision medicine, liquid biopsy, and basic principles of cancer genomics including an overview of the latest techniques and experimental models used in Pathology Divisions. - to acquire knowledge on the role of radiotherapy (RT) in the management of cancer: biological basis of RT, indications, combination with other cancer therapies (multimodality approach, multidisciplinary treatment), basic technical issues (modern high-precision RT: intensity modulated RT IMRT, image-guided RT IGRT, stereotactic RT SRT, intraoperative RT IORT, brachytherapy etc.), fractionation, dose and volume concept, acute and late toxicity, management of RT-induced toxicity, tumor response evaluation, role of RT in 4 big killers (lung, prostate, breast, colon-rectum). Imaging in oncology and in particular in radiation oncology.

At the end of the course students are expected to know: Basic knowledge about epidemiology of cancer, etiology and pathogenesis of thoracic and gastrointestinal malignancies.