An Overview of Carcinoid Syndrome

Francesca Spada received her MD degree (high honors) from the University of Cagliari (Italy) in 2004, and then completed her residency training in Medical Oncology at the University of Sassari (Italy). She spent one-year fellowship at European Institute of Oncology IRCCS - Milan - Italy, under the tutorship of Doctor Nicola Fazio, working full time in clinical and research activity on neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs). She then completed her training at University of Sassari (Italy) in 2011.

She has been working at European Institute of Oncology IRCCS - Milan (Italy) since 2011 as medical assistant with a permanent position, dealing with neuroendocrine and gastrointestinal neoplasms and more and more involved in NEN patient management and NEN clinical and translational research. During these activities, she also completed her PhD in Experimental and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, and Surgery at the University of “Insubria_” _- Varese (Italy), focusing on mixed neuroendocrine / non-neuroendocrine carcinomas (MANECs) of the gastro-entero-pancreatic (GEP) tract. Moreover, in 2018 she spent 3-month fellowship at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust of Manchester (UK), with particular focus on bone metastases in NEN patients and high grade NENs.

In 2022 she got the Academic National Scientific Qualification for Associate Professor of Medical Oncology.

From 2023 she is High Specialized Medical Oncology for Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (vice director) of the Division of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology and Neuroendocrine Neoplasms at European Institute of Oncology IRCCS - Milan (Italy).

Francesca had a crucial role for the IEO certification of ENETS (European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society) Center of Excellence for the management of gastro-intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (GEP - NETs) in 2015 and its renewal in 2018 and 2023.

Currently, she is responsible of the IEO NET multidisciplinary team activity, performing the role of quality coordinator. She is involved in educational activity in NEN field coordinating together with her chief (Doctor Nicola Fazio) a number of scientific boards of IEO NET annual stages for Italian and foreign clinicians. She is also part of an international network together with young colleagues from other NET referral centers.

Furthermore, for four years Francesca has been serving the AIOM (Italian Medical Oncology Society) as part of the Working Group of young oncologists.

Furthermore, for seven years she also has been serving AIOM as a secretary of NET Italian Guidelines and she is currently the Italian coordinator for NET guidelines for 6 years.

She also joined as a full member the executive board of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology Itanet (Italian Neuroendocrine Tumors Society) (2018-2021) in which she has been the coordinator of the NEN guidelines task force. She is currently part of the scientific board of Itanet keeping the role of responsible of the NEN guidelines task force.

She is full member of several scientific societies:

• Italian Medical Oncology Society (AIOM) in which she is the Coordinator of NEN Guidelines
• Italian Neuroendocrine Tumors Society (Itanet) in which she is Member of the Scientific Board
• European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) in which she is Member of the Advisory Board and co-chair of the Women in NET (WiN) task force.
• European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) in which she is member of the NETs and Endocrine Tumor Faculty (2021-2025)
• American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
• North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS)

Dr. Spada has authored several scientific publications and books on NEN in the last 12 years, she serves as Review Editor in Gastrointestinal Cancers (specialty section of Frontiers in Oncology) and, finally, she attended more than 300 scientific meetings on NENs as invited speaker or attendee during the last 14 years