Core Curriculum Topics » Division of Hematology & Oncology » College of Medicine

Hematology/Oncology Fellow’s Core Curriculum

Didactic Lecture Series

Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
1. Genetic Mechanisms
2. Chemotherapy
3. CNS treatment
4. Bone marrow transplant
5. Sequella of treatment
6. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia
1. Genetic mechanisms
2. Chemotherapy
3. Bone marrow transplant
4. Sequella of treatment
5. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Lymphomas
1. Classification Hodgkin’s Disease vs Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
2. Genetic mechanisms
3. Staging
4. Treatment approaches
5. Sequella of treatment
6. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Myeloproliferative Disorders and Myelodysplasia
1. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
2. Transient myeloproliferative disorder of childhood
3. Leukemoid reactions
4. Treatment considerations
5. Myelodysplasia
6. Treatment considerations
7. Nw diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Bone Tumors
1. Osteosarcoma
2. Ewing Sarcoma
3. Benign Bone tumors
4. Pathophysiology
5. Principles of Treatment (Local Control/Chemotherapy)
6. Amputation and loss of function
7. Sequella of treatment
8. New Diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Brain Tumors
1. Signs and symptoms
2. anatomic Sites
3. Common Tumors
4. Treatment Considerations
  1. Medulloblastoma
  2. Pilocytic Astrocytoma
  3. Tumors associates with NF-1
  4. Glioblastoma Multiforme
5. Treatment consideration
6. Radiation Therapy
7. Sequella of treatment
8. New Ddiagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Bone Marrow Failure
1. Idiopathic Aplastic Anemia
2. Congenital Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes
3. Pathophysiology
4. Treatment Approaches
5. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Bone Marrow Transplantation
1. HLA and Tissue Typing
2. Types of transplant
3. Indications for transplant
4. Graft versus tumor effects
5. Infectious considerations
6. Great versus hot disease
7. Venocclusive Disease
8. Long-term sequella
9. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Hemoglobinopathies
1. Sickle Cell Anemia
2. Thalassemia
3. Other hemoglobinopathies
4. Embryology ofhemoglobin switching
5. Pathophysiology
6. Complications of hemoglobinopathies
7. Treatment considerations
8. Long-term consequences of hemoglobinopathies
9. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Inherited and acquired disorders of the red cell membrane and re cell metabolism
1. Hereditary spherocytosis/elliptocytosis
2. Red-cell enzyme defects
3. Anatomic sites of hemolysis
4. Pathophysiology
5. Working up the cause of hemolysis
6. Treatment (Splenectomy vs. Medical)
7. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia
1. Warm vs. Cold-antibody mediated
2. Pathophysiology
3. Treatment
Nutritional Anemia
1. Vitamin deficiencies (B12, folate)
2. Iron deficiency anemia
3. Pathophysiology of nutritional anemia’s
4. workup of nutritional anemia’s
5. Treatment
Inherited and acquired disorders of white blood cells
1. Inherited Disorders of neutrophils
  1. Kostmann’s disease
  2. Schwachmann-Diamond syndrome
  3. Myelokathexis
  4. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
2. Acquired disorders of neutrophils
  1. Autoimmune neutropenia
  2. Alloimmune neutropenia
  3. Chronic granulomatous disease
  4. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
3. Inherited disorders of lymphocytes
  1. T-cell immunodeficiencies (SCID, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome)
  2. B-cell immunodeficiency (Brunton’s Agammaglobulinemia, Hyper-IgE, IgA deficiency)
  3. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
4. Acquired disorders of lymphocytes
  1. HIV
  2. Solid organ transplantation
  3. Effects of chemotherapy
  4. Bone marrow transplant
  5. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
5. Disorders of Eosinophils/Mast Cells
  1. Workup of hypereosinophilia
  2. Sequella of disorder eosinophil production
  3. Mastocytomas
  4. Mast-cells and allergy
  5. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Platelet disorders
1. ITP
2. Amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia
3. Inherited disorders of platelet function
4. Treatment of platelet disorders
5. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Hemophilia
1. Biolog of the Clotting Cascade
2. Hemophilia A
3. Hemophilia B
4. Workup of clotting disorders
5. Rare hemophilia’s
6. Sequella of hemophilia (joint rehabilitation, psychosocial sequella)
7. Treatment of hemophilia
8. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Hematologic disorders of the newborn
1. Anemia
2. Thrombocytopenia
3. Neutropenia/Neutrophilia
4. Leukocytosis
5. Transient Myeloproliferative disorder
Transfusion medicine
1. Rick of transfusion
2. Indications for transfusion
3. Mechanism of collecting blood products
4. Transfusion reactions
5. Cost of various blood products
Hemoglobin and Iron Metabolism
1. Hemoglobin switching and embryology
2. Structure of hemoglobin
3. Heme synthesis
4. Disordered globin synthesis (thalassemia, unstable hemoglobin)
5. Disordered heme synthesis (porphyria)
6. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
The Phagocytic system
1. Anatomy of the reticuloendothelial (phagocytic) system
2. Splenic function
3. Disorders of phagocytes
4. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Cell Kinetics
1. Chemistry of the cell cycle
2. Measuring the cell cycle
3. Mutations of the cell cycle proteins and cnacer
4. Apoptosis and Cancer
5. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Immunology
1. Normal immune function
2. Disordered immunity and cancer
3. Immunosuppressive drugs
4. Transplant and the immune system
5. New diagnostic techniques/genetic testing
Genetics
1. Oncogenes
2. Genetic syndromes and cancer
3. Mechanisms of ontogenesis
  1. Tumor suppressor genes
  2. Imprinting
  3. Loss of heterozygosity
  4. Methylation
Principles of Radiation Therapy
1. Types of radiation
2. Principles of dosing
3. Site-specific side effect
4. Indications for rational therapy
5. Treating radiation-related complications
Blood groups
1. Major blood groups
2. Minor blood groups
3. Blood typing and cross match
4. Issues related to chronic transfusion
5. Transfusion reactions
Pharmacology of Chemotherapy
1. Classes of chemotherapy
2. Mechanisms of action
3. Targeted therapies
4. Management of side-effects of chemotherapy
Infection in Immunocompromised patients
1. Effects of immunosuppression
2. Common pathogens from various anatomic sites
3. Work-up of fever and neutropenia
4. Treatment of infection
Nutrition
1. Cancer and nutrition
2. Antioxidants
3. Effects of chemotherapy
4. Enteral feeding
5. Hyperalimentation
6. Effects of treatment on growth
Principles of supportive care, palliative care & pain control
1. Talking to patients (and parents) about cancer
2. Psychological needs of cancer patients
3. The pathophysiology of pain
4. Treatment of mucositis
5. Prevention and treatment of constipation
6. Prevention and treatment of nausea
7. Palliative and terminal care
Oncologic emergencies
1. recognizing oncologic emergencies
2. Keys to management of oncologic emergencies
Psychological effects of chancer, chronic disease, and treatment
1. Recognize the psychological effects of life threatening illness on children
2. Recognize the development differences in psychological response to illness
3. Recognize the effect of chronic illness on family dynamics
Clinical trail design and interpretation
1. Understand different types of clinical trial design
2. Understand concepts of sensitivity, specificity, and power
3. Understand how to interpret clinical trial results, and critically evaluate trial design
Characteristic of Malignant cells
1. Tumor histology
2. Common molecular pathways
3. Cell kinetics
4. Apoptosis
5. Cell adhesion and metastasis
Microbiology and anti-infective agents in the compromised host
1. Barriers to infection
2. Innate and definitive immunity
3. Common pathogens in cancer patients
4. Common pathogens in BMT
5. Antibiotic mechanisms of actions
6. Mechanisms of antibiotic resistance