The Department of Surgery provides a surgical oncology fellowship program that combines training in clinical surgical oncology, non-surgical oncologic disciplines (medical and radiation oncology) and laboratory research. The fellowship is designed for individualization. The program is a combined two-year clinical and research program, with an optional third year for pursuit of research interests. During the two-year fellowship period, fellows spend 18 months in clinical surgical oncology as the senior responsible fellow.
In addition, fellows spend one month in medical oncology and one month in radiation oncology and have opportunities for elective clinical rotations. Research opportunities are available within the Department of Surgery and on the City of Hope campus with one of the over 100 basic science principal investigators. Surgical Oncology fellows rotate on the General & Oncologic Surgery service, the Gynecologic Oncology service and Head & Neck service. The General & Oncologic Surgery service includes the disciplines of breast, colorectal, melanoma, bone and soft tissue sarcoma, and gastrointestinal malignancies. All of the 3,767 operative procedures performed in the past 12 months were teaching cases that included the participation of a fellow or resident. Participation in clinical trials is strongly encouraged via in-house and national cooperative group protocols (NSABP and SWOG).
Regular conferences in the Department of Surgery attended by all fellows include: Morbidity and Mortality Conference, Surgical Pathology Conference, Surgical Grand Rounds and Fellow Education Conference. Interdisciplinary conferences attended by fellows rotating on specific services include: Breast, Liver, Colorectal, Pancreatic and Head & Neck Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards, Institutional Tumor Biology Conference, Chest Conference, and Thyroid and Endocrinology Conference. Fellows have six-month rotations on the Research Animal Care Committee, Institutional Review Board and Bioethics Committee. The Departments of Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology have weekly conferences that are attended by the fellows rotating on those services.
Research projects conducted by fellows focus primarily on cancer related topics including cellular and molecular immunology, molecular carcinogenesis, multiple drug resistance, oncogenic expression and modulation, radio-immunotherapy, growth regulation, viral induced carcinogenesis, tumor and vaccine immunology and clinical outcomes research. After evaluation of their research interests and goals, trainees choose specific projects with specific preceptors. Experience in biostatistics, clinical protocol development and clinical research is emphasized. Didactic and interactive support from the Department of Biostatistics, including a graduate level course in biostatistics, protocol preparation and design, enhances the validity of their investigations. Fellows also attend a comprehensive year-long course in Methods in Clinical Research.
Upon completion of the fellowship program, most of the fellows join the faculty of a university and continue in academic, surgical oncology.
Trainee salary, commensurate with local cost of living expenses is provided. As members of the City of Hope Medical Group, fringe benefits include health and dental insurance and a pension plan. Candidates should be eligible for a California Medical License.