Hindawi Publishing Corporation
ISRN Oncology
Volume 2013, Article ID 341565, 4 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/341565
Research Article
The Practice of Medical Oncology in Morocco:
The National Study of the Moroccan Group of Trialist in
Medical Oncology (EVA-Onco)
Saber Boutayeb,
1
Amina Taleb,
2
Rizlane Belbaraka,
3
Nabil Ismaili,
3
Narjiss Berrada,
1
Wafa Allam,
4
Halima Abahsain,
1
Naoufal Mellas,
5
Saif Afkir,
6
Omar Mesbahi,
5
Mohammed Ichou,
7
and Hassan Errihani
1
1
Department of Medical Oncology, National Institute of Oncology, Quartier Irfane, Hay Riad, 10080 Rabat, Morocco
2
King Mohammed VI, Quartier des Hopitaux, 20360 Casablanca, Morocco
3
CHU Marrakech, 53 Avenue Asif, 40 000 Marrakech, Morocco
4
Regional Cancer Center, Ville Nouvelle, 50070 Meknes, Morocco
5
Department of Medical Oncology, CHU Fes, Route de Sefrou, 30000 Fes, Morocco
6
Department of Medical Oncology, CHU Oujda, Oujda University, 60049 Oujda, Morocco
7
Department of Medical Oncology, Military Hospital, Quartier Irfane, 10080 Rabat, Morocco
Correspondence should be addressed to Saber Boutayeb; boutayebdr@yahoo.fr
Received 8 July 2013; Accepted 2 September 2013
Academic Editors: P. Bey and J. M. Zidan
Copyright © 2013 Saber Boutayeb et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Objective. To determine the current shortfall of medical oncologists (MOs) and the projected supply. Background. Morocco, the
medical oncology (MO) is a relatively new specialty. Medical oncology was recognized as a separate specialty in 1994 but the
real taking-of was done only since the 2000s ater the creation of the chair of medical oncology in the University of Rabat. he
GRIOMM (Moroccan group of trialist in medical oncology) was created in 2011 and conducted its irst study, EVA-onco, concerning
the practice of medical oncology in Morocco in 2011. Design. EVA-onco is a prospective study concerning the practice of medical
oncology in Morocco in 2011. Results. he entire public cancer centers completed the survey. here were no missing data. he
number of medical oncologist per 100000/habitants in Morocco was 0.09. he average number of new patients seen per medical
oncologist was 718 patients (ranging by state from 97 to 1875). he shortfall of MOs was estimated at 26 at least in 2011 according to
the national recommendations. Conclusions. Since 2010, a national strategy to increase the capacity of MO workforce existed. he
current shortfall of MO is expected to disappear in the future.
1. Introduction
he cancer treatment is based on three primary disciplines:
medical oncology, surgical oncology, and radiation oncology.
he medical oncologist specializes in diagnosing and
treating cancer using chemotherapy, hormonal therapy,
biological therapy, and targeted therapy. Also, he may
coordinate treatment given by other specialists and gives
supportive care [1].
he treatment of cancer needs a multidisciplinary team
but the medical treatment of cancer is becoming more
complicated and more specialized so there is a real need for a
medical oncologist specialty [1].
In Morocco, the MO is a relatively new specialty. MO was
recognized as a separate specialty in 1994 but the real taking-
of was done only since the 2000s ater the creation of the
chair of medical oncology in the University of Rabat.
he AMFROM (Moroccan Association for training and
research in medical oncology) was created in 2008 to assure
a high-level of qualiication for young oncologists and to
improve the recognition of medical oncology. In the same
way, the GRIOMM (Moroccan group of trialist in medical