Princess Margaret Global Cancer Program

Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz, senior advisor to the Global Cancer Program (GCP), and Prof. Felician Knaul, a health economist from the University of Miami and member of GCP's International Advisory, are two of the co-chairs on a new Lancet Commission on Cancer and Health Systems. The Commission was launched in August 2021 and brings together international experts from oncology, public health, economists, NGOs, and government organizations. The Commission will identify pathways that improve access to technology and innovations that support better and more equitable cancer control, spanning prevention to palliation, while strengthening health systems to be more prepared for other health challenges, including future pandemics. The Commission's report is expected in 2023.

The Global Oncology Leadership Development (GOLD) Program is an interdisciplinary program for clinical fellows of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (PM). PM hosts nearly 200 fellows annually across the cancer centre, of which 75% were trained outside of Canada. The GOLD Program includes intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational and systems leadership skills training and blends this with training on health systems. This content is delivered through a mix of didactic lectures, workshops, networking events, Insights to Discovery personality inventory, online learning and a formal connection with a mentor. Invited presenters included healthcare providers with expertise in leadership, health policy and social networking, as well as health service researchers, economists, philanthropists, and health communication and organizational change specialists. GOLD was purposefully designed to remove both financial and time barriers to participation by offering this program free of charge and by ensuring protected time from clinical duties from executive and departmental leadership.

In 2021, 31 fellows participated in the program, with 90% of participants from outside of Canada.

Learn more about the GOLD Program »

In 2020, the Princess Margaret Global Cancer Program partnered with the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO) and the American Association of Residents in Oncology (ARRO) on a collaborative, multi-institutional program to network, receive mentorship, and explore the field of global oncology, which is currently not included as part of core training. The program is free and is run online through the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre's online educational platform Cancer Campus. Running for the second year, the course includes 10 sessions held live and recorded each month from September to June. Additional networking events are offered with in-person events at the annual meetings of CARO and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

In the second year, there were 282 registered course participants from 14 different countries spanning the disciplines of clinical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, medical physics, radiation therapy and physician assistant. The overall program objectives include to:

• Introduce key concepts in global oncology and cancer control including cancer policy, the economics of cancer care, and research and innovation in cancer care
• Develop a community of practice in global oncology among emerging leaders in the field
• Provide mentorship opportunities to build strategic connections with current leaders in global oncology

Learn more about the Global Oncology Enrichment Program »

The organization of cancer care, education and research into Comprehensive Cancer Centres provides political, clinical, research and educational focus to improving delivery of care and achieving better outcomes for cancer patients. Cancer is a significant and growing problem for health systems. There is a need for creating guidance and global solidarity to build cancer units with truly comprehensive programs.

This Master course will address the organization of a Comprehensive Cancer Centre, focusing on integration of high-quality patient-centred care with education and research. Examples will be drawn from comprehensive cancer centres on four continents and is led by experts from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, AC Camargo Cancer Center (São Paulo, Brazil), King Hussein Cancer Centre (Amman, Jordan), and Tata Memorial Centre (Mumbai, India).

Learn more about the UICC Master Course: Comprehensive Cancer Centres »

Led by Dr. Michael Milosevic, this program accepts and trains clinical fellows at the Princess Margaret within the University of Toronto's partnership with Moi University to improve productive health in Kenya.

The Princess Margaret and the TMC in Mumbai, India have exchanged clinical fellows for on-site training since 2013.

The Princess Margaret has trained and hosted KHCC Clinical Fellows since 2013 as part of an overarching agreement between our institutions to share information about clinical know-how, best clinical research practices, and educational innovations.

Since 2012, Princess Margaret hematologists have been travelling to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to train the fellows from the Addis Ababa University. Trainees are also invited to Toronto to participate in observerships.

This tri-institutional philanthropic initiative partnership began in 2014 between the Princess Margaret (PM), Moi Training and Referral Hospital (MTRH) and the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery (AKUSONAM).

The initiative involved creating an Oncology Nursing Diploma Program that met the standards of the Nursing Council of Kenya, adapted from the PM Specialized Oncology Nursing foundation course that was grounded in the practice standards from the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology. PM supported a Canadian Oncology Nurse Educator to work jointly at MTRH and AKUSONAM in Kenya to develop a joint curriculum. Much of the nursing oncology content created by PM Advanced Practice Nurses was adapted and new curriculum reviewed by PM Advanced Practice Nurses.

The initiative concluded in 2018 after 7 nurses graduated from the MTRH program in 2017 and 16 student nurses graduated from AKUSONAM in 2018.​