Educational needs in gastrointestinal cancer: a consensus position paper from the ESMO Gastrointestinal Cancer Faculty

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are common in all parts of the world. Effective prevention and early detection of GI cancers are not universally implemented. Therefore, it must be anticipated that the incidence and the mortality of GI cancers will remain high within the next decades. The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Gastrointestinal Cancer Faculty aims to increase the skills of medical oncologists and other disciplines involved in treating GI malignancies. We aimed to increase the survival chances for patients with GI cancers, augment their quality of life and enable successful return to normal social and professional life during the period of survivorship. ESMO also aims to decrease the economic burden of GI cancer in our societies and national healthcare systems. Therefore, the ESMO Gastrointestinal Cancer Faculty initiated a consensus process based on the Delphi method to identify the most important educational needs of physicians who are concerned with GI malignancies. This paper summarises the process and its results and outlines the mission of ESMO in education.