Oncology CME

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

Systemic mastocytosis (SM) is a heterogeneous group of disorders caused by proliferation of abnormal clonal mastocytes, which accumulate in the skin and/or other organ systems. Mastocytosis, including SM, was reclassified as a distinct disease subtype in 2016, when the World Health Organization (WHO) removed mastocytosis from the myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) group. The WHO defines 5 SM subtypes, ranging from indolent SM, which is associated with mild symptoms and near-normal life expectancy, to mast cell leukemia, which is an aggressive hematologic malignancy associated with median survival of less than 1 year.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: hematology/oncology specialists, allergists, and clinical immunologists, dermatologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in those areas of specialty; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who may clinically encounter patients with systemic mastocytosis.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

Melanoma is a tumor of the melanocytes primarily occurring in the skin. The fifth most common cancer in the U.S., it occurs in over 970,000 people annually and is attributable to over 7,900 deaths each year. The five-year survival rate from diagnosis overall is 80% to 99% for patients with early stages of the disease, depending on tumor thickness. However, in patients in whom the disease that has spread to adjacent lymph nodes or tissues, the five-year survival drops to 71%, and for those with distant metastases (five percent of cases are diagnosed at this stage), the five-year survival is 32%, representing an area of ongoing clinical need.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: medical oncologists and dermatologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in oncology; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with malignant melanoma.

Penn Radiology Emergency Imaging After Hours provides insight for imaging conditions where rapid response is required. An elite faculty guides learners with practical lessons in modality choice, image acquisition and interpretation skills for a wide range of clinical presentations. Selected topics in chest, neuroradiology, abdominal, pelvic, pediatric and musculoskeletal imaging are presented to ensure confident analysis, so the practitioner is never outside of their comfort zone. Worth up to 15.75 AMA PRA Category I Credits™, all applicable as SA-CME for Maintenance of Certification requirements.

Penn Radiology responds to the constant challenge of Cancer imaging with Oncologic Imaging Essentials.  This activity includes a review of the diagnostic imaging evaluation of common tumors, including breast, head and neck, thoracic and abdominal malignancies.  Current state of the art modalities used for oncologic imaging, including CT, MRI, ultrasound, PET-CT and digital mammography will be discussed.  Emphasis is placed on the role of imaging in staging, treatment and follow up in order to optimize care of oncologic patients.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

Gastric cancer (GC) accounts for over 26,000 new cases and 11,000 related deaths in the U.S. annually, and while malignancies of the esophagus and gastroesophageal junction (GEJC) are associated with 19,000 and 15,000, respectively. GEJ tumors clinically more often resemble gastric than esophageal cancers, and GEJ cancers are often included in studies of GC. Adenocarcinomas represent more than 95% of gastric cancers and around 75% of esophageal cancers in the US. Staging of GC & GEJC depends on the tumor’s histopathology, location, and degree of spread, and 36% of patients in the U.S. are diagnosed in the advanced stages of the disease because the signs and symptoms are often initially clinically silent for most of the disease course, and missed opportunities for identification are not uncommon. The prognosis of GC & GEJC is poor: the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of GC is 32%, with the five-year OS rate of patients with advanced disease is six percent.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: Medical oncologists; physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists specializing in oncology; and any other clinicians involved or interested in the treatment of GC & GEJC.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is one of a group of malignancies marked by unregulated growth of immature lymphoid cells. Each year, over 6,500 new cases are diagnosed, and ALL claims an estimated 1,390 lives in the same timeframe. The incidence of ALL peaks at 1 to 4 years of age, and it accounts for three quarters of cases of acute leukemia in children. The signs and symptoms of ALL are nonspecific and can include fatigue, malaise, or palpitations associated with anemia; fever with or without infection due to leukopenia or leukocytosis; petechiae; and bleeding or bruising of the oral mucosa or skin. Although the precise etiology of ALL remains unknown, some cases have been associated with exposure to ionizing, toxic chemicals, and herbicides; genetic conditions such as Down syndrome, Fanconi syndrome, neurofibromatosis; and viruses like human T-lymphotropic viruses 1 and 2 and Epstein-Barr virus.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: pediatric hematology-oncology, hematology, oncology, pathology, and those who otherwise commonly care for or clinically encounter patients with ALL.

Elevate Your Hematology and Oncology CME

The Brigham and Dana-Farber Board Review and Comprehensive Update in Hematology and Oncology is a case-based online CME course focused on improving overall knowledge and clinical competency. Prep for your board exam and stay current on basic principles, changing guidelines and therapeutic strategies. Practice improvement areas featured in the continuing medical education program include:

• Acquired/Congenital Bone Marrow Failure
• Thalassemia/Hemoglobinopathies
• Transfusion Medicine
• New Therapies (Pharmacology)
• Infections of the Immunocompromised
• Hematologic Malignancies (Acute/Chronic Leukemias; Myeloma/Lymphomas)
• Thoracic Oncology (Head/Neck/Lung/Thyroid)
• and many more…

Target Audience: Hematologists

There is currently one webcast that offers CME credits:
Online Webcast – Transanal Colo-Rectal Endoscopic Surgery (TACRES) Ta TME in Rectal Cancer by Cecil Approach

Target Audience: Physicians specializing in Hematology/Oncology.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Myelofibrosis (MF) is a hematologic malignancy characterized by fibrosis buildup in the bone marrow, inadequate hematopoiesis, and splenomegaly. MF is a rare form of cancer, with an incidence of about 0.4 per 100,000 person-years in the United States. MF is the most aggressive form of the Philadelphia-negative, BCR-ABL1 chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms, with a five-year mortality rate of 51%. In patients with other comorbidities at the time of or after diagnosis, such as diabetes, hypertension, pulmonary diseases, or obesity, even greater reductions in lifespan can be expected. It has a considerable effect on patient quality of life and is associated not only with feelings of fear, anger, and grief common of an oncologic diagnosis, but also a gradual loss of ability to perform activities of daily living and hobbies. MF imposes a significant financial burden through direct and indirect costs, and patients who are diagnosed at a younger age often become unemployed as the disease progresses.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: hematologists and oncologists in the community and academic settings; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in oncology; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with MF.