[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]The National Comprehensive Cancer Network®(http://www.nccn.org/index.asp) (NCCN®) has launched the NCCN International Educational Activities Program (NCCN IEAP) to recognize ex-U.S. physicians who demonstrate an understanding of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(http://www.nccn.org/clinical.asp) (NCCN Guidelines®) with the successful completion of required NCCN Guidelines® educational content hours.

“NCCN has launched the NCCN IEAP in response to the ever increasing global influence of and demand for the NCCN Guidelines,” said Robert W. Carlson, MD, CEO, NCCN. “Today, nearly half of all registered users of NCCN.org who utilize the NCCN Guidelines report living outside the United States.”

NCCN IEAP completion certificates are available for demonstration of general knowledge of the NCCN Guidelines and for specific disease sites, including breast, colorectal, and lung cancers, and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Additional tumor types are forthcoming.

An NCCN IEAP completion certificate requires the successful completion of 12 NCCN educational hours per year, including a module focused on NCCN Guidelines development, plus NCCN educational content hours in at least four disease types. These educational hours may be completed online or in-person. Also available are disease-specific completion certificates, in which physicians successfully complete the 12 hours as described above, as well as eight hours of disease-specific education for one cancer type, totaling 20 educational hours. Physicians may qualify for multiple disease-specific completion certificates.