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European Society of Cardiology Core Curriculum for cardio-oncology
Teresa López-Fernández1,2, Dimitrios Farmakis3, Pietro Ameri4,5
1Cardiology Department, La Paz University Hospital, IdiPAZ Research Institute, Madrid, Spain.
Insights
Cardio-oncology, a specialized field in cardiovascular medicine, addresses the cardiovascular needs of cancer patients. The European Society of Cardiology developed a core curriculum to standardize training and certification for specialists in this growing area.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Medicine
- Oncology
- Cardio-oncology
Background:
- Cardio-oncology is a rapidly expanding subspecialty of cardiovascular medicine.
- Managing cardiovascular disease in cancer patients requires specialized knowledge beyond general cardiology training.
- The increasing number of cancer survivors necessitates dedicated cardiovascular care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish a standardized core curriculum for cardio-oncology training.
- To define the essential knowledge and experience required for cardio-oncology specialists.
- To provide a framework for European Society of Cardiology (ESC) certification in cardio-oncology.
Main Methods:
- Development of a consensus document by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
- Structuring the curriculum into 8 key chapters covering cancer biology, therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity (CTR-CVT), diagnosis, management, and research.
- Defining protocols for risk stratification, prevention, monitoring, and long-term survivorship.
Main Results:
- A comprehensive 8-chapter core curriculum for cardio-oncology has been established.
- The curriculum outlines principles of cancer therapy, CTR-CVT, risk management, and clinical practice.
- It includes guidelines for multidisciplinary team management, service organization, and research.
Conclusions:
- The ESC core curriculum promotes standardization and harmonization in cardio-oncology training and evaluation.
- It serves as the basis for an ESC certification program to recognize specialist competencies.
- This initiative aims to improve cardiovascular care for patients with cancer.
Abstract:
Cardio-oncology is a rapidly growing field of cardiovascular (CV) medicine that has resulted from the continuously increasing clinical demand for specialized CV evaluation, prevention and management of patients suffering or surviving from malignant diseases. Dealing with CV disease in patients with cancer requires special knowledge beyond that included in the general core curriculum for cardiology. Therefore, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has developed a special core curriculum for cardio-oncology, a consensus document that defines the level of experience and knowledge required for cardiologists in this particular field. It is structured into 8 chapters, including (i) principles of cancer biology and therapy; (ii) forms and definitions of cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity (CTR-CVT); (iii) risk stratification, prevention and monitoring protocols for CTR-CVT; (iv) diagnosis and management of CV disease in patients with cancer; (v) long-term survivorship programmes and cardio-oncology rehabilitation; (vi) multidisciplinary team management of special populations; (vii) organization of cardio-oncology services; (viii) research in cardio-oncology. The core curriculum aims at promoting standardization and harmonization of training and evaluation in cardio-oncology, while it further provides the ground for an ESC certification programme designed to recognize the competencies of certified specialists.
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