Medical oncology in the next century

Medical oncology is a relatively young, rapidly growing subspecialty of internal medicine. This discipline will increasingly fulfil a role in the multidisciplinary approach for cancer patients. The fact that the population is rapidly aging, makes it of relevance to train medical oncologists further in the treatment of elderly patients. The growing number of cancer survivors deserves also special attention in order to limit the frequency of long-term side effects. Apart from the classical function as a doctor who treats cancer patients with drugs, the medical oncologist will play an expanding role at the far ends of oncology, namely in prevention and palliative care. Basic sciences create a tremendous amount of new knowledge on cancer detection, behavior and rational drug design. An important task for the medical oncologist will be to translate this expertise to the clinical scenario. The expanding requirement of specific skills of medical oncologists in the next century is likely to cause a further subspecialization within medical oncology.