Program Details Designed by Physicians

Core Curriculum

• Expert Oncology Education delivers experience-based learning through a leveraged online format.
• Each lecture is designed by physicians, with medical school level content presented in a a way that is accessible to industry representatives.
• Each lecture is available in an e-Learning format with professional voice-over narration as well as printable notes.
• Core concepts are introduced in didactic fashion and then illustrated and reinforced via case study style examples.
• Appropriate tumor specific and/or treatment specific examples are used to illustrate real world examples of the didactic teaching.
• Each topic has a self-guided review exam with questions that reinforce key principles.

Live Grand Rounds

• In addition to the core curriculum, each client with 10 or more students will have the opportunity to collaborate with Clinical Difference to craft a live, online classroom session ("Grand Rounds") designed specifically for their enrolled students. The Grand Rounds session will be delivered by a board certified oncologist and focus on a topic to be mutually agreed upon. Students will have the opportunity to interact with the presenting oncologist and participate in a real time question and answer session.

Content

Below are additional details on topics that are top-of-mind for many oncology clinicians today:

Hallmarks of Cancer

This section will address hallmarks which we define as the cellular and molecular changes that are associated with cancer development. As technology develops, it is understood that the number of hallmarks figure to increase over time. (and the content will be updated accordingly) Clinical breakthroughs in oncology are increasingly connected to the inhibition of identified targets. Emphasis will be placed on conveying the underlying principles of the core concepts and how each relates to the pathogenesis of cancer. The core concepts include:

1. increases in cell growth rate
2. alteration in cell metabolism
3. recruitment of tumor vascularization
4. altered host immune system mechanisms
5. activating invasion and metastasis
6. enabling replicative immortality

Examples of mutations in specific tumor types and approved products will be used to illustrate the core concepts in a real world context. While specific product examples are still being evaluated, examples of anti-angiogenic therapies would not only draw on an extensively studied treatment such as Avastin, but also touch on example targets such as MET and VEGFR2 to reflect the breadth of the process and underline common trends.

Clinical Trial Principals and Statistics

This section will address the goals, objectives, design and interpretation of clinical trials. The focus is to build a stronger understanding of the thought processes used both in constructing trials and determining the endpoints needed to demonstrate efficacy. Designing truly effective trials is critical, particularly in disease states where there are multiple therapeutic choices beyond the study drug. Meaningful clinical endpoints must be identified and met in order to demonstrate meaningful clinical benefits. Topics include:

1. Impact and limitations of trial design style (i.e. randomized discontinuation trial)
2. Translating statistics into absolute patient benefit
3. Comparability of efficacy data between distinct studies
4. Effects of patient crossover
5. Defining "changes in relative risk"
6. Defining target patient populations
7. Frequently seen limitations of clinical studies