KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
acquire basic knowledge of epidemiology, etiology, and primary and secondary prevention of human malignancies. Acquire basic knowledge of biological and clinical features of cancer diseases and treatment modalities.
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: to be able to apply acquired knowledge as a sound basis for working in the field of oncology prevention and health promotion, collaborating with other professionals and relating to the public effectively.
JUDGMENTAL AUTONOMY: acquire adequate critical processing skills in the management of prevention and health education pathways in the field of chronic diseases with particular reference to oncological diseases.
COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS: acquire adequate biomedical terminology and the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with colleagues and other professionals and health service users, providing correct and understandable information.
LEARNING SKILLS: to acquire the ability to independently investigate specific topics in the field of oncology that are useful for their own work and to make the necessary connections with the other teachings of the degree program.

Epidemiological methodology, biology, pharmacology, genetics.

The course mainly deals with the aspects of cancer prevention. • Tumor biology, genomic and epigenetic aspects, clonal evolution and heterogeneity. Principles of pathology, diagnosis, natural history and treatment of tumors. • Cancer epidemiology. Data on incidence, mortality, prevalence, survival for the main tumors in Italy and in the world. Causes of cancer. • Cancer prevention: primary prevention, preventable cancer deaths, pharmacological prophylaxis; secondary prevention, cancer screening and their objectives and main biases. • Hereditary tumor predisposition syndromes. • Anticancer drugs: drugs with a molecular target, immunotherapy, hormonal therapies, chemotherapy. Adverse events of anticancer drugs. • Lung cancer: prevention and control of smoking, screening options, principles of pathology, diagnosis and therapy. • Breast cancer: risk factors and primary prevention, screening, principles of pathology, diagnosis and therapy. • Colorectal cancer: risk factors and primary prevention, screening, principles of pathology, diagnosis and therapy. • Cervical carcinoma: HPV infection and primary prevention by HPV vaccine, screening, principles of pathology, diagnosis and therapy.

Lecture slides will be provided. The use of a text is not indispensable for the preparation of the exam.
For further knowledge (especially for non-attending students), reference can be made to the text: "Manuale di oncologia per infermieri" by Alberto Ravaioli, Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore, or to “Manuale di Oncologia Medica” by the “Collegio degli Oncologi Medici Italiani”, edited by Massimo Aglietta, Edizioni Minerva Medica (II edition).

• Tumor biology: benign and malignant tumors; genomic alterations; oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes; driver and passenger mutations; clonal evolution of tumors; tumor heterogeneity; hallmarks of cancer. • Tumor pathology: histological types, degree of differentiation, staging, prognostic and predictive factors. Tumor natural history. • Tumor diagnosis: clinical, pathological and instrumental. • Principles of cancer therapy: surgery, radiation therapy, neo/adjuvant medical therapies and therapies for advanced disease. • Tumor epidemiology and oncological prevention: definitions of incidence, prevalence, mortality, survival, standardized rates; role of cancer registries; 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; evidence underpinning the preventability of cancers; causes of cancer: cigarette smoke, infections, diet, physical inactivity, excess weight, alcohol, environmental pollution; carcinogens; avoidable deaths; European Code Against Cancer; cancer screenings and their objectives and main biases. • Hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, familial adenomatous polyposis, hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome). • Anticancer drugs: categories; types of drugs with a molecular target (small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates); therapeutic targets in the tumor cell and in tumor microenvironment; 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 inhibitory drugs (RAS, RAF, MEK, PI3K, mTOR inhibitors); immunotherapies and their adverse events; notes on hormonal therapies; main categories of chemotherapy and their adverse events. • Lung cancer: risk factors, damage from tobacco smoke, prevention and control of smoking and initiatives of the Italian National Institute of Health, electronic cigarettes and products for inhalation without combustion; histopathological classification of lung tumors, predictive molecular abnormalities; clinical presentation, diagnosis, staging, natural history; principles of therapy of non-small cell lung cancer: surgery, radiotherapy, neoadjuvant and adjuvant drug therapy, therapy for metastatic disease (molecularly targeted drugs, immunotherapy, chemotherapy); principles of therapy of small cell lung cancer. • Breast cancer: epidemiology, risk factors, screening, diagnosis, staging, predictive and prognostic factors, histological types, subtypes of breast cancer, natural history; neoadjuvant therapy, surgery, adjuvant therapy, metastatic breast cancer therapy. • Colorectal cancer: epidemiology; model of evolution in stages of colorectal cancer; risk factors and hereditary predisposition syndromes for colorectal cancer; precancerous lesions; colorectal cancer screening; histopathological classification, clinical presentation, diagnosis, staging, natural history; principles of therapy: surgery, adjuvant drug therapy, therapy of metastatic disease. • Cervical cancer: epidemiology; HPV infection and related HPV cancers; primary prevention with HPV vaccine; screening for cervical cancer with pap-test and HPV-DNA; anatomical-pathological classification of cervical cancers, clinical presentation, diagnosis, staging, natural history; principles of therapy: surgery, chemo-radiotherapy, pharmacological therapy of relapsed or metastatic disease.

Lectures.

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

There will be a written examination with 30 multiple-choice questions and one open-ended question, to be taken in a maximum time of one hour. 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. It is possible to request, immediately after the written test is taken, an additional portion of the oral examination to improve the grade obtained in the written test. 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 or four 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. 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.

Health and wellbeing