Disparities in Surgical Specialisation and Education in Cancer Training (DISSECT)COST Action CA24158
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About the Action

Who we are

DISSECT (COST Action 24158) — Disparities in Surgical Specialisation & Education in Cancer Training.

Overview

A network for better surgical oncology training

Our COST Action aims to identify gaps and variations in cancer surgery training in Europe and beyond by sharing knowledge between high- and low-resource settings, strengthening multidisciplinary teams, and advocating for research, mentorship and innovation.

We are a multi-specialty consortium with 100 individual members originating from 38 countries, 17 of which are COST Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs).

Mission

What DISSECT sets out to do

DISSECT brings together surgeons with other stakeholders in cancer care to understand the gaps in cancer surgery training and how these impact patient care.

  • Identify areas of disparity in cancer surgery training.
  • Build research capacity and integrate patient involvement in surgical research.
  • Advocate for and strengthen mentorship in cancer surgery training.
  • Facilitate knowledge exchange across diverse multidisciplinary teams.
  • Empower surgeons to harness new technologies for education, research and better patient care.

Geography

DISSECT global network

Members collaborate across Europe and beyond, including Inclusiveness Target Countries.

Europe

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

North & Latin America, Asia

Brazil, Canada, China, India and the Philippines.

Memorandum of Understanding

Research Coordination Objectives

As set out in the Memorandum of Understanding for COST Action CA24158.

  1. Perform a needs assessment to identify areas of cancer surgery training disparities through surveys and focused group discussions.
  2. Organise at least two multi-stakeholder meetings within the funding period to develop a roadmap to address critical areas of disparities in cancer surgery training and assess its impact.
  3. Identify five priority areas of disparities in cancer surgery training where collaboration from high- and lower-resource settings can have meaningful impact.
  4. Generate at least five open-access publications from the DISSECT network in peer-reviewed journals.

Memorandum of Understanding

Capacity-Building Objectives

  1. Facilitate knowledge exchange and a multidisciplinary team approach between high- and low-resource settings.
  2. Conduct joint MDTs with virtual clinical discussions between paired high- and low-resource institutions within the DISSECT network.
  3. Assess the impact of these joint MDT sessions on patient outcomes, surgical decision-making among young surgeons and research output among trainees.
  4. Develop learning pathways and tailored mentorship programmes for surgical trainees dedicated to patient-focused cancer research, effective leadership, communication and innovation.
  5. Develop and assess the feasibility of a tele-mentoring programme for surgeons to improve competency in cancer surgery, decision-making for complex clinical cases, and predicting surgical outcomes.