Survey reveals major gaps in cardio-oncology training

Key takeaways

• Cardio-oncology is an emerging field dedicated to ensuring that patients receive the best cancer therapy while minimising cardiovascular side effects.
• Results from the first comprehensive assessment of cardio-oncology training have revealed profound educational gaps.
• The ESC Core Curriculum for Cardio-Oncology and ESC Cardio-Oncology certification aim to help fill these gaps, with further wide-ranging activities needed to ensure all healthcare professionals are equipped to prevent, recognise and treat cardiovascular complications in patients with cancer.
  

Vienna, Austria - 20 June 2026: An international survey has highlighted major gaps in cardio-oncology training, despite its increasing clinical importance. [1] These results were presented at ESC Cardio-Oncology 2026, the second annual conference of the European Society of Cardiology's Council of Cardio-Oncology.

While modern treatments for cancer are helping patients to live longer, there is growing concern about the cardiovascular side effects of cancer therapies. Cardio-oncology is a relatively new field that aims to optimise cancer treatment while minimising cardiovascular toxicity. The ESC established the Council of Cardio-Oncology and published expert-led guidelines on cardio-oncology in 2022.2 The Cardio-Oncologists Of tomorrow Leaders (COOL) group was created from within the ESC Council to engage the next generation of cardio-oncology specialists and develop educational strategies to meet their evolving needs.

Members of COOL and the ESC Council were involved in the presented study. Explaining the rationale, Doctor Massimiliano Camilli from the Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli, IRCCS, Rome, Italy, said: "The COOL group launched the first comprehensive, international survey on cardio-oncology education, from medical school through postgraduate training, to understand the current status and the needs of healthcare professionals across Europe and beyond."

An anonymised, web-based survey was distributed to cardiologists, cardiology residents and other healthcare professionals treating patients with cancer. A total of 398 respondents from 63 countries completed the survey, of whom 73% were board-certified cardiologists.

The survey revealed limited cardio-oncology training during undergraduate and postgraduate education. Only 10% of respondents reported exposure to cardio-oncology training during medical school, and 17% during residency. When asked about the availability of structured cardio-oncology educational programmes at their institution, the vast majority of respondents - 87% - reported no availability of formal training. Subgroup analyses found that access to cardio-oncology training opportunities was greater in respondents working in academic hospitals and in participants from European compared with non-European countries.

Across the respondents, diagnosing cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity alongside strategies for risk stratification, prevention and monitoring were highlighted as key priority areas of knowledge. The preferred learning formats were fellowships focused on cardio-oncology, webinars, university master's degrees and position statements on controversial topics developed by scientific societies. Respondents identified the ESC and national cardiac societies as the principal organisations able to lead education in the field.

Summing up the results, Doctor Camilli said: "The survey identified profound gaps in cardio-oncology education during medical school and residency and in structured institutional programmes." On the positive side, he noted that efforts are being made to fill the gaps: "The recently released ESC Core Curriculum for Cardio-Oncology, [3] together with the ESC Guidelines, [2] facilitate training standardisation and provide the foundations for new ESC Cardio-Oncology certification." He concluded, "Improving cardio-oncology education is a must - across all stages of medical training and all specialities involved - to enable prevention and early management of cardiovascular complications in patients with cancer."

ENDS