Medical oncology

Hospital Arquitecto Marcide, de Ferrol, where one of the SERGAS Medical Oncology Services works.

Medical oncology is a medical specialty, derived from the branch of internal medicine, dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, focused on the care of patients with cancer as a whole, which is treated with chemotherapy, hormone therapy and other drugs, as opposed to surgical oncology, which deals with the removal of the tumor and surrounding tissues during a surgical operation, and oncology radiation therapy, which uses radiation therapy to treat cancer.

Duties of the Medical Oncologist

Cancer disease treated with chemotherapy.

A medical oncologist is the specialist who cares for cancer patients. Its objective is the care of the patient from diagnosis, including treatment and follow-up, to cure, or during the terminal period of the patient. She attends to the pathology associated with the tumor disease, and the complications derived from the treatment. She actively collaborates in the emotional, social and psychological support of patients and their families.

He deals especially with the management of antineoplastic drugs: chemotherapy, hormone therapy and other drugs, and must have extensive knowledge of their pharmacokinetics and interactions with other drugs.

Brief history of the specialty

In the second half of the XX century, there was a significant increase in both the complexity of diagnostic and therapeutic methods, as well as malignant tumors as a cause of death in developed societies. As a consequence, doctors who wanted to dedicate themselves to the care of patients with tumor processes needed special preparation, in addition to extensive knowledge in Internal Medicine.

Medical oncology arose from the need to cover medical aspects other than surgical and radiotherapy.

Medical oncology in Spain

The specialty of medical oncology in Spain was established (Decree July 15, 1934) in 168. At that time, although the Fundación Jiménez Díaz in Madrid had been awarded a position as a resident doctor in Oncology in October 1956, SEQUIO (Spanish Society of Oncological Chemotherapy) was also founded, the specialty existed as an independent entity in a few places, with professionals from biochemistry, hematology and internal medicine. The specialty of "Surgical Oncology" does not exist, but there is a scientific society of Oncological Surgery, nourished mainly by general surgeons, and radiotherapists, first within the specialty of Radiology and radiotherapy, and then as: Oncology radiotherapy, but lacked the support of an internist who knew the clinic of the tumors and who, in addition, was in charge of the treatment. It was in 1978 when all this began to consolidate thanks to a group of pioneering faculty in this field, some of whom had to go abroad to learn how things were done.

Official recognition in Spain of the specialty of medical oncology occurred in 1978. The "National Commission of Medical Oncology" was then established, and minimum parameters were established to access the corresponding degree, coinciding with the general start of the MIR degree.

But much earlier, the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), a national, non-profit scientific entity, was established in 1976 (SEQUIO) with the aim of advancing against cancer and helping its patients receive the best possible health care. And on the date of recognition of the specialty, his most immediate concern was to ensure that the most prominent Spanish companies could have an organizational and hierarchical structure for medical oncology.

Spain, pioneer in Europe in the specialty

Spain was the first European country in which the specialty of medical oncology was established, the ASCO had started in 1964, and this fact constituted an example for the rest of Europe, although it also caused many challenges. When the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) was created in 1975, Spain was the only country in which the specialty existed as such (although "unofficially"). Subsequently, ESMO urged the governments of other countries to establish the specialty, and currently (2018) it is present in the following countries: Germany, Austria, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Cyprus, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.

For this reason, for being the first and having traveled the longest path, Spain is a pioneer and is at the forefront of cancer treatment. The first Spanish medical oncologists, mostly from internal medicine, achieved their qualifications after the agreement reached by the SEOM and the Ministry of Health for the recognition of the specialty. Since 1987, SEOM has devoted a good part of its activity to projecting and giving prestige to Spanish oncology within the European framework.

In Latin America

The vision for the development of a Latin American and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology is of a future where cancer is prevented, detected early and cured or adequately treated for patients from all over the world and with global treatment standards of cancer.
The Argentine Society of Cancerology was born in 1947, from the idea and work of a group of prestigious professionals, followers of the work of Dr. Ángel H. Roffo, director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine.

The Argentine Association of Clinical Oncology, established in 1967, focuses its purposes on promoting the study, experimental and clinical research, the improvement and discovery of new scientific knowledge related to cancer and linking national specialists among themselves and with foreigners, agreeing with other national and foreign, public and private organizations, the methodology aimed at ensuring compliance with the ethical standards of associates in their professional activity and for their improvement.