KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION: to acquire fundamental knowledge about the biological and clinical characteristics of cancer diseases, their course and complications, as well as treatment modalities and related efficacy and adverse events.
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION: to be able to apply the acquired knowledge as a sound basis for managing the clinical problems of the oncology patient, both with regard to disease-related and treatment-derived disorders.
JUDGEMENT AUTONOMY: acquire adequate critical thinking skills in the medical management of cancer patients in the various stages of the disease and acquire the ability to collaborate with other professionals involved in the multidisciplinary management of cancer patients.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS: acquire the correct biomedical terminology and the ability to accurately explain the patient's problems in order to collaborate effectively with other professionals involved in the multidisciplinary management of cancer patients; acquire the ability to explain information about the disease and treatments to patients and caregivers in a clear and comprehensive manner, using language that is understandable to them.
LEARNING SKILLS: acquire the ability to independently explore specific topics in the field of oncology and make the necessary connections with other courses in the degree program. Develop the ability to keep up to date over time.

Molecular Biology: basic concepts, cellular signaling network, main cellular functions.
Medical Genetics: mechanisms of gene replication and expression; germline and somatic gene alterations.
Clinical Pharmacology: concepts of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
Pathology: cytology, histology, histopathological classification of tumors, TNM classification and stages, grading.

• Tumor biology, therapeutic targets and precision oncology.
• Epidemiology of tumors and primary and secondary oncological prevention.
• Principles of pathology, diagnosis, staging and therapy of tumors.
• Hereditary tumor predisposition syndromes.
• Anticancer drugs, adverse events, and their management.
• Natural history and principles of therapy of the main thoracic and head and neck cancers.
• Natural history and principles of therapy of the main neoplasms of the digestive system.
• Natural history and principles of therapy of the main urogenital and breast neoplasms.
• Soft tissue and bone sarcomas.
• Skin cancers and melanoma.
• Rare tumors.
• Main complications of neoplastic diseases.
• Clinical research in oncology.

“Manuale di Oncologia Medica” del Collegio degli Oncologi Medici Italiani (COMU), a cura di Massimo Aglietta, edizioni Minerva Medica (II edizione)

• Tumor biology: benign and malignant tumors; genomic and epigenetic alterations; oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes; driver and passenger mutations; clonal evolution of tumors; tumor heterogeneity; hallmarks of cancer. Therapeutic targets in tumor cells and in the microenvironment. Precision oncology. • Tumor pathology: histopathological classification, grading, staging, prognostic and predictive factors. • Tumor diagnosis (clinical, pathological and instrument-based). • Principles of cancer therapy: surgery, radiation therapy, neo/adjuvant medical therapies and therapies for advanced disease. Assessment of treatment activity and efficacy. • Tumor epidemiology and oncological prevention: definitions of incidence, prevalence, mortality, survival, standardized rates; data on incidence, mortality, prevalence, survival for the main tumors in Italy and in the world; time trends of incidence and mortality for some cancers; causes of cancer; cancer screening and their main biases. • Hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes: BRCA1 and BRCA2, familial adenomatous polyposis, hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer. • Anticancer drugs: categories; types of drugs with a molecular target (small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates); anti Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) drugs and their adverse events; anti HER2 drugs and their adverse events; anti-angiogenic drugs and their adverse events; intracellular enzyme inhibitor drugs (RAS, RAF, MEK, PI3K, mTOR); immunotherapies and their adverse events; hormonal therapies and their adverse events; main categories of chemotherapy and their adverse events. • Thoracic and head and neck neoplasms. Clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathological classification, biomolecular characteristics, and treatment of: non-small cell lung cancer, pulmonary microcytoma, pleural mesothelioma, thymic neoplasms, and head and neck tumors. • Neoplasms of the digestive system. Clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathological classification, biomolecular characteristics, and treatment of: tumors of the esophagus, stomach, colon-rectum, pancreas, liver, and biliary tract. • Urogenital and breast neoplasms. Clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathological classification, biomolecular characteristics, and treatment of: breast, ovarian, uterine, prostate, testicular, kidney, bladder, and urinary tract tumors. • Skin carcinomas and melanoma: clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathological classification, biomolecular characteristics, and therapeutic approaches. • Soft tissue and bone sarcomas: clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathological classification, biomolecular characteristics, therapeutic approaches. • Other rare tumors: brain tumors, neuroendocrine tumors, neoplasms of the endocrine glands (thyroid, adrenal glands). • Main complications of cancer: pain, occlusions, cachexia, spinal cord compression, intracranial hypertension, mediastinal syndrome, tumor lysis syndrome, hydro-electrolytic disorders, skeletal events, paraneoplastic syndromes. • Clinical research in oncology: phases of clinical research, experimental protocols, ethics of scientific experimentation, informed consent.

Lectures, exercises on clinical cases, links to Jove videos, examples of multiple-choice quizzes.

Lecture slides and any further study material will be made available to students via the Teams and Moodle platforms.

There will be a written examination with 30 multiple-choice questions and one open-ended question, to be taken in a maximum time of 45 minutes. For each multiple-choice question there will be four answers, only one of which will be correct. Grading will be by a score in thirtieths, calculated by adding the number of correct answers out of the total of thirty questions. A minimum score of 18/30 is required for passing the exam. The answer to the open-ended question, if correctly and comprehensively stated, will serve to earn honors, for those who had achieved a score of 30/30. An oral portion of the exam may also be conducted if the instructor deems it necessary for the proper evaluation of the student or if the student wishes to discuss with the instructor in order to improve their written exam score. In this case, at least two questions will be asked, and the grade will increase in proportion to the correctness and comprehensiveness of the answers. For students who request it, it is possible to take an oral examination in place of the written one. In that case, at least three open-ended questions related to the topics given in the course content will be offered. The student must demonstrate that he or she possesses the knowledge and skills reported in the course objectives. The evaluation for the oral examination will also be in thirtieths. To pass the exam, the student must correctly answer at least two questions. On the other hand, to achieve the highest score, the student must demonstrate excellent knowledge of all topics covered in the course.

This course explores topics closely related to one or more goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development