Oncologic critical care: A new frontier in critical care medicine

In the past 25 years, oncologic critical care has grown exponentially from anonymity to becoming a significant force in the field. Small groups of intensivists around the world have contributed to the increasing awareness, changing intensive care unit admission guidelines to reprioritize cancer patients, and to the proliferation of education and development of research oncologic networks. Critically ill cancer patients have all benefited from the recent publication of the foundational bases for the subspecialty, the rapid dissemination of knowledge through webinars and congresses, and the formation of an international professional society. These advances have been made possible through transcontinental collaboration between international networks such as the Oncologic Critical Care Research Network (ONCCC-R-NET), professional societies like the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC), and federations including the Pan-American and Iberian Federation of Critical and Intensive Care (FEPIMCTI) and the World Federation of Intensive and Critical Care (WFICC). Global educational activities have gained momentum with strong initiatives and collaboration between them, changing the way we perceive and care for oncologic critically ill patients. Despite all these successful endeavors, there is much to do. In this article, we describe the clinical context surrounding these activities, the associated globalization efforts, the strategic rationale driving them, and opportunities we see emerging. In this issue of the journal, we also bring you a collection of outstanding collaborative works that will further enrich our knowledge, generate research ideas, and benefit critically ill cancer patients so in need of our care.