ESMO/ASCO Recommendations for a Global Curriculum in Medical Oncology - Edition 2023 - stand-alone chapters and didactic updates

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Kurz

European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and ASCO publish the 2023 edition of the ESMO/ASCO Global Curriculum with contributions from more than 150 authors. The curriculum provides recommendations for training physicians in medical oncology and establishes educational standards for trainees to qualify as medical oncologists. It advances prior editions by incorporating scientific developments, survey input on curriculum adoption, reorganizing selected topics into stand-alone chapters, adding new (sub)chapters, and introducing modern didactic principles to promote global harmonization and reduce disparities in cancer care.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages79

Reading Time3 h 19 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Standard Requirements for Training in Medical Oncology

Special Requirements

Programme Leader/Director of Medical Oncology Training Programme

Faculty

Educational Programme

Competencies Required in the Curriculum

Special Articles ESMO/ASCO Recommendations for a Global Curriculum in Medical Oncology Edition 2023 Tanja Cufer, MD1 and Michael P. Kosty, MD, FACP, FASCO2; on behalf of the Curriculum Development Subgroup—ESMO/ASCO Global Curriculum Working Group DOI [https://doi.org/10.1200/GO.23.00277](https://doi.org/10.1200/GO.23.00277) ABSTRACT The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and ASCO are publishing a new edition of the ESMO/ASCO Global Curriculum (GC) with contributions from more than 150 authors. The purpose of the GC is to provide recommendations for the training of physicians in medical oncology and to establish a set of educational standards for trainees to qualify as medical oncologists. This edition builds on prior ones in 2004, 2010, and 2016 and incorporates scientiﬁc advances and input from an ESMO ASCO survey on GC adoption conducted in 2019, which revealed that GC has been adopted or adapted in as many as two thirds of the countries surveyed. To make GC even more useful and applicable, certain subchapters were rearranged into stand-alone chapters, that is, cancer epidemiology, diagnostics, and research. In line with recent progress in the ﬁeld of multidisciplinary cancer care new (sub)chapters, such as imageguided therapy, cell-based therapy, and nutritional support, were added. Moreover, this edition includes an entirely new chapter dedicated to cancer control principles, aiming to ensure that medical oncologists are able to identify and implement sustainable and equitable cancer care, tailored to local needs and resources. Besides content renewal, modern didactic principles were introduced. GC content is presented using two chapter templates (cancerspeciﬁc and non–cancer-speciﬁc), with three didactic points (objectives, key concepts, and skills) . The next step is promoting GC as a contemporary and comprehensive document applicable all over the world, particularly due to its capacity to harmonize education in medical oncology and, in so doing, help to reduce global disparities in cancer care. ACCOMPANYING CONTENT Appendix Accepted August 24, 2023 Published October 23, 2023 JCO Global Oncol 9:e2300277 © 2023 European Society for Medical Oncology and American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd and Lippincott Williams and Wilkins This is an open access article under the CC BY NC ND License ([https://creativecommons.org/](https://creativecommons.org/)[ ](https://creativecommons.org/)[licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/](licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/)) [which](which)[ ](which)permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is noncommercial and no modiﬁcations or adaptations are made. 1. INTRODUCTION 3 2. STANDARD REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAINING IN MEDICAL ONCOLOGY 5 3. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS 5 3.1 Programme Leader/Director of Medical Oncology Training Programme 5 3.2 Faculty 6 3.2.1 Faculty Members 6 3.2.2 Faculty Standards 6 3.3 Educational Programme 6 3.3.1 Educational Environment 6 3.3.2 Professionalism 6 3.3.3 Responsibility 6 3.3.4 Update of Skills and Knowledge 6 3.3.5 Interdisciplinary Teamwork 6 3.3.6 Institutional Requirements 6 3.3.6.a Clinical setting. 6 3.3.6.b Hospital facilities. 7 3.3.7 Facilities 7 4. COMPETENCIES REQUIRED IN THE CURRICULUM 7 4.1 Basic Science 7 4.1.1 Cancer Biology 7 4.1.2 Cancerogenesis 8 4.1.3 Tumour Immunology 9 4.1.4 Molecular Oncology 9 4.2 Cancer Epidemiology 10 [ascopubs.org/journal/go](ascopubs.org/journal/go | 1)[ |](ascopubs.org/journal/go | 1)[ 1](ascopubs.org/journal/go | 1) Cufer and Kosty 4.2.1 Global Cancer Statistics 10 4.2.2 Cancer Registries 11 4.3 Cancer Prevention 12 4.3.1 Population Risk Factor 12 4.3.2 Primary Prevention 13 4.3.3 Secondary Prevention/Screening 13 4.4 Cancer Diagnostics 14 4.4.1 Laboratory Diagnostics 14 4.4.2 Pathology 15 4.4.3 Molecular Biology/Pathology 16 4.4.4 Genetic and Genomic Testing 16

FAQs

What is the purpose of the ESMO/ASCO Global Curriculum (GC) 2023 edition?

It provides recommendations for training physicians in medical oncology and sets educational standards for trainees to qualify as medical oncologists.

How does the 2023 edition improve on earlier editions?

It incorporates scientific advances and survey input on GC adoption, reorganizes certain subchapters into stand-alone chapters, and adds new (sub)chapters such as image-guided therapy, cell-based therapy, and nutritional support.

What didactic structure does the GC use and what is its intended impact?

GC content is presented using two chapter templates (cancer-specific and non–cancer-specific) with didactic points including objectives, key concepts, and skills, aiming to harmonize education worldwide and reduce global disparities in cancer care.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Kurz