Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Department of Biostatistics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Cancer Med. 2021 Mar;10(6):2026-2034. doi: 10.1002/cam4.3787. Epub 2021 Feb 23.
With the advent of next generation sequencing, tumor and germline genomic testing are increasingly being used in the management of pediatric cancer patients. Despite this increase in testing, many pediatric hematology-oncology (PHO) providers are not confident interpreting or utilizing tumor or germline genomic results to care for their patients.
We developed and delivered a needs assessment survey to PHO program directors, attendings, and fellows in the United States to understand this deficiency, gather data on existing cancer genomics educational initiatives, and query preferences for creating a future curriculum.
The survey includes 31 (41%) of 74 invited PHO program directors, 110 (11%) of 1032 invited attendings, and 79 fellows. The majority of attending physicians and fellows responding to the survey agree that understanding tumor (95% attending physicians; 95% fellows) and germline (86% attending physicians; 94% fellows) genomic information is essential for their practice. However, only 9 of 31 (29%) responding programs report that they have an existing cancer genomics curriculum. Most program directors indicated that the ideal genomics curriculum would occur during the first year of fellowship and incorporate direct patient care, online modules, and problem-based learning. Attending physicians and fellows identified that addressing indications for ordering tumor and germline genomic testing, counseling about the risks and benefits of such testing, and interpreting and individualizing clinical management based on tumor and germline results should be included in a future curriculum.
The results of this study reveal a great need to develop a curriculum that can be offered across PHO fellowship programs to expand knowledge in the area of cancer genomics.
随着下一代测序技术的出现，肿瘤和种系基因组检测越来越多地用于儿科癌症患者的治疗。尽管检测的数量有所增加，但许多儿科血液学-肿瘤学（PHO）医生对解读或利用肿瘤或种系基因组结果来治疗患者并不自信。
我们开发并向美国的 PHO 项目主任、主治医生和研究员发送了一份需求评估调查，以了解这方面的不足，收集关于现有癌症基因组学教育计划的数据，并查询创建未来课程的偏好。
该调查包括 74 名受邀 PHO 项目主任中的 31 名（41%）、1032 名受邀主治医生中的 110 名（11%）和 79 名研究员。回答调查的大多数主治医生和研究员都认为，了解肿瘤（95%的主治医生；95%的研究员）和种系（86%的主治医生；94%的研究员）基因组信息对他们的实践至关重要。然而，只有 31 个（29%）回复的项目报告说他们有现有的癌症基因组学课程。大多数项目主任表示，理想的基因组学课程应该在研究员的第一年进行，并结合直接的患者护理、在线模块和基于问题的学习。主治医生和研究员指出，应该在未来的课程中包括解决肿瘤和种系基因组检测的指征、关于此类检测的风险和益处的咨询，以及根据肿瘤和种系结果解释和个性化临床管理。
这项研究的结果表明，非常有必要开发一个可以在整个 PHO 研究员项目中提供的课程，以扩大癌症基因组学领域的知识。
