Board of directors

Expert statement BJCN NEW CONCEPTS AND RECOMMENDATION IN CLINICAL ONCOLOGY from Best of ASCO^® Bulgaria 2025 View

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Assia
Konsoulova

President

Comprehensive cancer centers and network connectivity

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dimitar
KALEV

Vice President

Expert boards, clinical guidelines and assemblies

Prof. Dr. Margarita
Guenova

Vice President

Continuing medical education in oncology and hematology

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Milena
ENCHEVA

Primary and secondary prevention

Ekaterina
VITKOVA

Psychosocial support and supportive care

Acad. Prof. Dr. Draga
TONCHEVA

Scientific research

Ivaylo
Petrov, MPharm

Digital solutions and innovation

Prof. Dr. Alexander
Julianov

Scientific periodicals

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Boryana
AVRAMOVA

Pediatric oncohematology

Dr. Jasmina
KOEVA

Inter-institutional/international synergies and partnership network

Acad. Prof. Dr. Grigor
GORCHEV

Finance, mediation and ethical control

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION IN ONCOLOGY AND HEMATOLOGY

Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Margarita Guenova

Continuing Medical Education in Oncology (BJCN CME-O) is a long-term program of BJCN, launched in 2022. It includes conducting educational events in oncology and oncohematology and publishing digital manuals, textbooks and monographs dedicated to malignant diseases

Training seminars
Videoconference modules for continuing medical education in oncology and hematology, thematically dedicated to the most current diagnostic and therapeutic problems in solid tumors and hematological neoplasias. They include lectures by leading experts from Bulgaria and abroad, training demonstrations and credit tests.

The seminars are organized and implemented with the expert participation of associations, members of the Bulgarian Society of Oncology: Women in Oncology Association, Bulgarian Association of Psycho-Oncology (BAPO), Bulgarian Group of Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (BGBIP), Bulgarian Medical Association of Hematology (BMSH), Bulgarian Medical Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology (BMDDOH) and Bulgarian Society of Pediatric Surgery (BDSHS).

For the first time in the history of Bulgarian clinical oncology and hematology, the training forums are accredited by the Accreditation Council of Oncology in Europe (ACOE) and the European Board for Accreditation in Hematology (EVAN).

- Training seminars in oncology and hematology MORE (until 2022):
  - May 8, 2021: Application of TNM classification in clinical oncology
  - June 12, 2021: Morphology of blood cells
  - June 4, 2022: Diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia
- Training program in oncology and psycho-oncology BJCN 2022 – 2024: Modern strategies in breast cancer – real practices in Bulgaria. Training modules in psycho-oncology
- Oncology Training Seminars:
  - March 9, 2024: Thoracic Interventional Procedures for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer
- Hematology and Pediatric Oncohematology Training Seminars
  - November 25, 2023: Fundamentals of Classification and Staging of Hematolymphoid and Pediatric Neoplasias

- - November 23, 2024: Diagnosis of Acute Myeloblastic Leukemias
- Oncology Training Webinars for General Practitioners:
  - June 17, 2023: The General Practitioner in Opportunistic Cancer Screening
  - June 8, 2024: The General Practitioner in the Cancer Patient’s Pathway

Best of the World Forums
From 2025 BJCN presents licensed reviews of the most prestigious oncology forums in the world

- February 14-15, 2025: Best of 2024 SABCS® Bulgaria
- July 11-12, 2025: Best of 2025 ASCO

BJCN-MORE Clinical Guidelines

Evidence-based guidelines. Created annually by national multidisciplinary expert boards and published in paper format since 2010. They include recommendations for clinical behavior in solid tumors of various localization in adults and children, for predictive biomarkers and for psychosocial support in oncology. The Oxford CEBM method was used for evidence analysis and recommendation formulation, and since 2020 – the GRADE approach.
Original educational digital product MORE e-CME-O: In 2022 in partnership with BGO Software, the innovation MORE e-Guidelines (MORE e-SME-O) has been developed and introduced – an original digital platform for creating and updating evidence-based oncology clinical guidelines.

Textbooks
Within the framework of the national oncology conferences BJCN-MORE, annual editions of the BJCN-MORE Textbook are published in printed and electronic versions. The textbooks contain scientific articles thematically dedicated to specific malignant diseases in adults and children and are intended for continuing medical education in oncology and hematology. The texts are in the style of literature reviews and are compiled by experts, authors of sections in evidence-based clinical guidelines.

MORE Library
The MORE Library includes oncology monographs by Bulgarian and foreign authors dedicated to current problems of prevention, screening, diagnosis, TNM-staging and treatment of malignant diseases in adults and children

COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTERS AND NETWORKING

Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Assia Konsoulova

Comprehensive Oncology Centers

Since July 2022, BJCN has been an associate member of the Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) – an international non-governmental organization authorized to accredit comprehensive oncology centers in Europe and the world. The official contact person is Assoc. Prof. Dr. Assia Konsoulova.

- In the period from November 25 to 27, 2025, the first visit to Bulgaria (Deep Dive) was carried out under the accreditation program of the CCI4EU – WP4 project, related to providing support for the development of maturity in structuring centers for comprehensive oncology care.
  The visit was held at the University Hospital “St. Ivan Rilski”, Sofia and was coordinated on the Bulgarian side by Assoc. Prof. Asya Konsulova.

Network connectivity

Since February 4, 2024, BJCN is a full member and representative of Bulgaria in ALL.Can International – an international network of leading representatives of patient organizations, politicians, healthcare professionals, researchers and industry experts from all over the world. The main mission of ALL.Can International is to identify unmet needs in oncology care and, through research and interaction, to demonstrate best practices. The organization develops systemic solutions and policies to improve oncology care by focusing on what is of greatest importance to patients.

Since June 18, 2024, BJCN has been officially included as the representative of Bulgaria in the ECHoS initiative (Establishing Cancer Mission Hubs: Networks and Synergies). ECHoS is a European project uniting over 60 leading organizations in the field of healthcare, research and innovation, academia and the non-governmental sector from 30 countries. Funded under the Horizon Europe programme, the project aims to support the implementation of the Mission to Fight Cancer activities in all Member States and Associated Countries, with a focus on the establishment and development of National Hubs. As part of ECHoS, the ONS takes responsibility for building a network for cooperation and dialogue aimed at the introduction and implementation of policies related to cancer prevention and treatment. The initiative aims to create sustainable synergies and interactions at national and international level, supporting innovative solutions and good practices in cancer care.

Since 27 November 2024, the ONS has been an associate member of the European Cancer Organisation (ECO) – a European federation uniting organisations involved in the field of oncology at European level. ECO focuses on facilitating cooperation to develop and coordinate policies aimed at improving the quality of care for patients with cancer. This is achieved through interprofessional and multidisciplinary interaction between medical and non-medical organisations, as well as experts from different public sectors.