Advances in research are increasingly allowing these cancers to be treated successfully, achieving patient survival. Increase your skills in this field with TECH and achieve patient improvement" 

The importance of researching cancers of unknown primary and rare cancers lies, on the one hand, in their paradoxically high frequency, taking the data as a whole. One in five tumors diagnosed every day is a rare tumor, which represents an important figure of 650,000 cases per year in the European Union and an incidence similar to that of colorectal cancer.

On the other hand, the mortality rate of these tumors is higher than that of the most common tumors, with a 5-year survival rate of 48% compared to 63% for the overall number of neoplasms. This is due, above all, to the limited experience of professionals due to their rarity, as well as to the difficulty of receiving effective specific treatments, since most of them do not have approved medication for this purpose, which is why they are also known as orphan tumors.

This program has been designed from the experience of leading cooperative group members in orphan cancer and Cancer of Unknown Primary. They are leading experts in rare cancers, but also in reference pathology groups in each case; internationally renowned professionals.

In this program, the experts, all of them leaders in each knowledge field, will develop aspects related to the context of this spectrum of pathologies, presenting their clinical and molecular vision, showing their diagnostic and therapeutic approaches and explaining complementary aspects such as their research and institutional environment or the global reality of the patients who suffer from these diseases. 

Furthermore, students will be able to complete the program at their own pace, without being subject to fixed schedules or the commuting involved in classroom teaching, so they will be able to combine it with their other daily obligations.

You will complete your knowledge of pediatric cancer in a way you have never experienced before. You will learn the criteria to consider a tumor as a tumor”

This professional master’s degree in Cancer of Unknown Primary contains the most complete and up-to-date scientific program on the market. The most important features include:

• The development of case studies presented by oncology experts
• The graphic, schematic, and practical contents with which they are created, provide scientific and practical information on the disciplines that are essential for professional practice
• Latest advances on the treatment of Cancer of Unknown Primary
• Practical exercises where the self-assessment process can be carried out to improve learning
• Special emphasis on innovative methodologies in the diagnosis and treatment of Cancer of Unknown Primary
• Theoretical lessons, questions to the expert, debate forums on controversial topics, and individual reflection assignments
• Content that is accessible from any fixed or portable device with an Internet connection

You will acquire the skills to use molecular biology tools for a successful agnostic approach to Cancer of Unknown Primary”

The teaching staff includes professionals from the oncology sector, who contribute their experience to this program, as well as renowned specialists from leading societies and prestigious universities.

The multimedia content, developed with the latest educational technology, will provide the professional with situated and contextual learning, i.e., a simulated environment that will provide immersive education programmed to learn in real situations.

This program is designed around Problem-Based Learning, whereby the specialist must try to solve the different professional practice situations that arise throughout the program. For this purpose, the professional will be assisted by an innovative interactive video system created by renowned and experienced experts.

You will delve into the role of lung cancer as a paradigm of personalized medicine, with your contribution being a key to its treatment in the future"

In this program, you will learn about rare hereditary syndromes from a clinical and molecular perspective"

The design of this professional master’s degree in Cancer of Unknown Primary will allow students to delve into a field of medicine that needs qualified professionals to carry out relevant research. In this way, you will update your professional profile and boost your career in a new and essential field of study with future projection. Therefore, this program has been designed by a team of experts whose syllabus will enable future graduates to achieve the proposed objectives. You will also be fully equipped to deal with the latest advances and treatments currently being applied. For this reason, TECH has established a series of general and specific objectives for the satisfaction of future graduates, as follows.

You will gain a deeper understanding of aspects related to precision medicine in the context of rare tumors, agnostic treatments and Cancer of Unknown Primary”

General Objectives

• Acquire concepts and knowledge regarding the epidemiology, clinical, diagnosis and treatment of infrequent tumors, agnostic diagnoses and cancers of unknown origin 
• Know how to apply the diagnostic algorithms and evaluate the prognosis of this pathology
• Be able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of formulating clinical and diagnostic judgements based on the available clinical information 
• Apply acquired knowledge and problem-solving skills in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the area of study 
• Know how to establish complex therapeutic plans in the context of the pathology in question Have a deeper knowledge of specific treatment networks, reference centers, clinical trials 
• Acquire knowledge about molecular biology tools for the study of these tumors 
• Gain a thorough understanding and use tumor registries
• Know and use face-to-face or virtual molecular committees
• Understand fundamental aspects of biobank operations 
• Specialize in interprofessional relationship tools for the treatment of orphan, agnostic and unknown origin cancers and access expert networks in the different pathology groups
• Gain knowledge about how to communicate conclusions, and the ultimate knowledge and rationale behind them- to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous manner 
• Understand social responsibility due to rare diseases 

Specific Objectives

Module 1. The Reality of Rare Tumors, Cancer of Unknown Primary and Tumor-Agnostic Therapy

• Be able to place the entities under study in an epidemiological context, know their incidence and prevalence, as well as the trend of the rates at European levels
• Delve into survival data at European level and the causes of survival differences between rare tumors and reference tumor pathology
• Gain a deeper understanding of aspects related to precision medicine in the context of rare tumors, agnostic treatments and Cancer of Unknown Primary
• Manage the different models of care for infrequent tumors, as well as concepts in their field such as tumor registries, expert networks, reference units and tumor Board Review
• Acquire skills on biobanks and their role in clinical research
• Become familiar with the methodological aspects of low incidence tumor research
• Specialize in the European framework of legislation in relation to low incidence tumors, the role of regulatory agencies and the particularities of access to medication
• Be aware of the implications of all this in the patient's experience, as well as the repercussions of the disease at the psychological and social level

Module 2. Molecular Biology Tools for an Agnostic Approach to Rare Cancers 

• Acquire skills to use molecular biology tools for an agnostic approach to rare cancers
• Gain in-depth knowledge of the study of tumor DNA, both in solid biopsy and liquid biopsy
• Study aspects of the genome, exome and sequencing panels; and learn about available platforms and current applications
• Develop skills in germline DNA, becoming familiar with the concepts of variants and polymorphisms and being able to delve into germline disorders
• Provide the necessary knowledge in the study of messenger RNA, developing content about the transcriptome, RNA sequencing panels (Nanostring) and Single Cell RNA
• Gain an in-depth understanding of the development, present and future of pharmaceutical drug sensing in primary cell culture and organoids
• Complete immunotherapy studies with aspects related to molecular biology, knowing concepts such as mutational load, neoantigens, microbiota or adoptive cell therapy

Module 3. Pleura, Mediastinum and Chest Wall Tumors Lung cancer as a paradigm of new rare tumors. Head and neck cancer

• Teach students how to manage four groups of pathologies in this area: pleural tumors, mediastinal tumors (thymoma and thymic carcinoma), chest wall tumors and neuroendocrine lung tumors (typical carcinoid, atypical carcinoid and large cell carcinoma)
• Acquire skills in aspects of epidemiology, etiology and pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis and classification, prognostic factors, treatment and clinical guideline recommendations
• Delve deeper into future expectations in each of these pathology contexts
• Acquire competencies on the role of lung cancer as a paradigm of personalized medicine
• Be able to use diagnostic techniques and new treatment options The skills to be acquired in this block refer to the types of sample according to the diagnostic approach; optimization in sample management, response time and characteristics of the report; tumor heterogeneity; role of liquid biopsy; molecular diagnostic techniques: IHC, FISH, RT-PCR, NGS and guideline recommendations in this context
• Specialize in driver mutations in the lung cancer context: EGFR, BRAF, MET, KRAS, ALK, ROS-1
• Know in depth the role of translocations and rearrangements/amplifications: NTRK, RET, MET, HER-2
• Recognize the most uncommon tumors of the otorhinolaryngological and head and neck area, acquiring skills for their diagnosis and treatment

Module 4. Rare Digestive System Tumors: Digestive Neuroendocrine Tumors. Thyroid Cancer

• Have an in-depth knowledge of a heterogeneous group of pathologies with very different diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic approaches, including: small bowel tumors, appendicular tumors, anal canal carcinoma, liver and intrahepatic bile duct tumors, gallbladder and extrahepatic bile duct neoplasms, and gastrointestinal stromal tumors
• Acquire skills in the molecular approach to enable effective treatment with targeted therapies, such as GIST (gastrointestinal stromal tumors) or more recently biliary tract carcinomas
• Study thyroid cancer and neuroendocrine tumors Acquire the ability to diagnose and treat this group of neoplasms
• Specialize in neuroendocrine tumors and acquire skills for their approach in the context of amultidisciplinary team

Module 5. Rare Gynecologic Tumors: Rare Breast Tumors. Rare Genitourinary Tumor Oncology

• Delve into orphan urological neoplasms
• Address rare urological pathology in terms of its clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic aspects, with special emphasis on molecular developments in recent years, in which many of these tumors are beginning to be tributary to a molecular approach
• Update knowledge on rare gynecologic cancers
• Recognize rare types of breast cancer, the more specific aspects of their approach and the complexity of their treatment

Module 6. Hereditary Syndromes: From Biology to Clinical Application: Pediatric Tumors and Childhood Tumors in Adults

• Gain an in-depth understanding of rare hereditary syndromes from a clinical and molecular perspective
• Have sufficient knowledge of the rare neoplasm, its relationship to heredity and the criteria for referral to a reference unit
• Acquire knowledge about pediatric cancer Know the criteria to consider a tumor, a tumor
• Become skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of these clinical entities

Module 7. Musculoskeletal Tumors: Epithelial Cancer. Central Nervous System Tumors. Ocular Tumors

• Specialize in sarcomas as a paradigm of rare cancers: their diversity, classification, characteristics and therapeutic diagnostic approach
• Prepare students for the initial approach and management of skeletal and soft tissue tumors and visceral sarcomas
• Obtain in-depth knowledge of rare and ultra-rare central nervous system tumors 
• Expand knowledge of next generation sequencing (NGS) as an emerging technology that can detect a wide variety of molecular disorders in brain tumors
• Learn about the development of technology in new equipment for neuro-oncological care, allowing stereotactic surgery, the evolution of neuroimaging techniques, neuronavigation, neuroendoscopy, as well as the emergence of specialized surgery instruments
• Acquire knowledge about rare epithelial neoplasms, Merckel cell carcinoma and ocular melanoma

Module 8. Tumor-Agnostic Therapy

• Become familiar with the concept of agnostic diagnosis
• Delve into the new paradigm in cancer treatment, opening the door to the choice of treatment based on a particular biomolecular disorder, rather than on the type and location of the tumor, a concept known as tumor-agnostic therapy
• Acquire knowledge about one of the most important biomarkers detected: the NTRK fusion gene, which appears in a wide variety of tumor types, both in adult and pediatric patients
• Equip students with the necessary judgment to use molecular tools in an efficient and safe manner to detect patients carrying their mutations
• Manage the approach to tumors with microsatellite instability
• Delve into the development of numerous agnostic therapies for various diseases

Module 9. Cancer of Unknown Primary

• Delve into the concept of Cancer of Unknown Primary
• Know, in-depth, its modes of presentation and the tests that should be performed in targeted manner
• Acquire skills for the approach of this disease and the collaboration to optimize patient survival
• Know how use molecular tools in the context of this pathology
• Manage the peculiar aspects of its research approach: basket and umbrella essays

Module 10. Supportive Treatment, Antineoplastic Treatment Toxicity Control, Palliative Care and Care of Long Surviving Patients with Low-Incidence Tumors

• Learn to care for long-surviving patients, resulting in a population with very unique needs
• Acquire the skills to detect and address the needs of this population
• Provide skills for terminal illness, end of life and pain care
• Delve into the importance of supportive care in the quality of life and cancer patient survival
• Acquire skills for the care of major cancer syndromes: pain, emesis, alterations of the intestinal habitus, etc
• Be able to deal with the toxicity of oncological treatment

A unique specialization program that will allow you to acquire advanced training in this field"