Hematology/Oncology

The elective rotation in Hematology/Oncology for third- and fourth-year medical students at Penn State College of Medicine is designed to give students a broad experience while allowing them to focus on their chosen area of hematology or oncology.

Requirements

Students in the elective must attendance the following conferences:

• Department of Medicine Grand Rounds on Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. (usually in LR-D)
• Hematology/Oncology Grand Rounds on Thursdays mornings at 7:45 a.m. (usually in T2500)
• Fellow Case Conferences twice a month
• Tumor Boards
• Resident Teaching Sessions

Reading materials

Benign Hematology

• Overview of Anemia
  • Current Concepts in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Aplastic Anemia
  • Algorithm for the Laboratory Investigation of Anemia in Adults
• Bleeding Disorders
  • Hemophilia A and B
  • von Willebrand Disease
• Sickle Cell Anemia
  • Causes and Outcomes of the Acute Chest Syndrome in Sickle Cell Disease
  • Update in the Treatment of Sickle Cell Anemia
  • Disorders of Hemoglobin Structures
  • Complications Associated with Sickle Cell Trait
• Thrombocytopenia
  • General Aspects of Thrombocytopenia, Platelet Transfusions and Thrombopoietic Growth Factors
• Thrombophilia
  • Thrombophilia
  • Natural History of Venous Thromboembolism
• Metabolic Disorders
  • Hereditary Hemochromatosis
  • Guidelines for Management of Pediatric and Adult Tumor Lysis Syndrome
  • How I Treat Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia

Oncology Overview

• Overview of Chemotherapy (Cytotoxic Drugs & Molecularly Targeted Therapeutics)
  • Apoptosis and Non-apoptotic Deaths in Cancer Development and Treatment Response
  • Epigenetics in Cancer
  • Tumor Angiogenesis
  • Circulating Tumor Cells
  • Stem Cells and Cancer
  • 2000 Years of Chemotherapy of Tumors
  • Oncogenes and Cancer
• Oncologic Emergencies
  • A Systemic Approach to the Bleeding Patient
• Neutropenic Fever
  • Infectious Complications
• Management of Adverse Events (Pain Management, Control of nausea & vomiting)/Palliative Care
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology Guidelines for Antiemetics in Oncology

Malignant Hematology

• Common Leukemias
  • Evolving Paradigms in the Therapy of Philadelphia Chromosome-Negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Adults
  • Management of Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
  • Treatment of Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
  • Curative Strategies in Acute Promyelocyte Leukemia
  • From Pathogenesis to Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
• Lymphomas
  • Adult Burkitt Lymphoma
  • How I Treat Patients with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma
  • Clinical Features, Prognosis and Treatment of Follicular Lymphoma
• Multiple Myeloma
• Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation

Solid Tumors

• Gastrointestinal Cancers
  • Colon Cancer
    • Systemic Treatment of Colorectal Cancer
  • Renal Cancer
    • Kinase Targets in Renal-Cell Carcinoma
    • Renal-Cell Carcinomas
    • Update on the Application of Interleukin-2 in the Treatment of Renal-Cell Carcinoma
• Breast Cancer
• Lung Cancer
  • The Role of Irreversible EGFR Inhibitors in the Treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • The Revised TNM Staging System for Lung Cancer
  • Systemic Chemotherapy for Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • Small Cell Lung Cancer
  • Management of Lung Cancer in Older Adults
• Head and Neck Cancer
  • Expanding Role of the Medical Oncologist in the Management of Head and Neck Cancer
  • Chemotherapy Options for Patients with Metastatic or Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck
• Genitourinary Cancers
  • Prostate – Localized Prostate Cancer
  • Testicular – Testicular Germ-Cell Cancer
  • Bladder – Bladder Cancer
• Gynecological Cancers
  • Ovarian Cancer
• Brain Tumors
  • Glioblastoma in Adults
• Miscellaneous References
  • Skin Cancer – Management of Cutaneous Melanoma
  • Sarcomas – Soft Tissue Sarcomas in Adults
  • Endocrine Malignant Neoplasms – Adrenocortical Carcinoma

Expectations of the Hematology/Oncology Rotation

• Students will be responsible for two patient write-ups during each week,
  • Week 1: 1 Inpatient; 1 Consult
  • Week 2: 1 Inpatient; 1 Clinic New Patient
• Inpatient Service
  • Student is expected to round with interns and residents
  • Student should take the initiative to present their patients on attending rounds
  • Each week, the student is required to give a 5- to 10-minute presentation on a topic relevant to one of their inpatients
  • Provide the attending a copy of a patient admission write-up that includes an H&P as well as an assessment and plan by problem
  • Remember to ask the attending to observe your skills while giving the patient a physical exam and your interaction with the patients
• Consult Service
  • Participate in consultations on two afternoons each week
  • Remember to ask the attending to observe your skills while giving the patient a physical exam and your interaction with the patients
•  Rounds
  • Pick up patients with interns on inpatient service
  • Take initiative to present your patients succinctly by active problem during attending rounds
• Outpatient Clinics
  • Outpatient Clinics in the afternoons are required for Third Year students on two weekdays. You are expected to attend different clinics on each day of your rotation to gain an appreciation of the various subspecialties within hematology/oncology
  • Case Conferences , organized by the fellows twice a month, provide a good opportunity to learn about various oncologic and hematologic diseases as well as their molecular pathogenesis and modern therapies