GLPH 488 Global Oncology: Cancer Care, Policy, Research, and Education

Winter 2025 (On-Campus)

Year 4

9-10 hours/week

3 units

Available

On-Campus Course

Global oncology is a branch of global health, focusing specifically on the challenges and opportunities of cancer care, policy, education, and research, especially in resource-limited settings. A key focus is the investigation of appropriate cancer policy as a critical point of intersection for all facets of cancer care, as it can ultimately make a difference in outcomes of patients with cancer. Students will study several aspects of cancer policy, such as clinical trial designs, surrogate endpoints, appraisal of clinical benefit from cancer drugs, regulatory approval, cost and value of cancer drugs, financial toxicity, disparities in access to cancer treatments, conflicts of interest, real-world evidence and ethical issues in cancer research. Aspects of global oncology that will be covered include the global burden of cancer, global disparities in access to cancer care, access to cancer medications worldwide, cancer research and trial infrastructure in low-and-middle-income countries, ethical cancer clinical trials for global oncology, use of technology to address global cancer disparities and finally, the concept of cancer “groundshot”, a term that the instructor of this course coined.

Prerequisites

Minimum 4th year standing.

Learning Outcomes

Critically appraise clinical trials and other types of research in oncology and assess the magnitude of clinical benefit of cancer drugs.
Analyze the implications for access with respect to how cancer drugs get approved and funded in the U.S, Canada and around the world
Discuss the economics of cancer drugs, and its relationship with global cancer disparities.
Appraise and then propose policy level solutions to address disparities in global cancer outcomes, including the role of organizations such as the WHO and other non-profit international organizations.
Produce both a publication style research-style as well as a commentary-style article related to global oncology and/or cancer policy.