The CAIRO Journal Club: A Decade of Impact

Abstract

Over the past decade, the CAIRO Journal Club (CJC) has evolved into a cornerstone of oncology education and multidisciplinary collaboration across Egypt and the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This narrative review charts CJC's formative journey, analyzes its educational impact, and outlines forward-looking strategies to further democratize high-quality cancer care. Since 2013, CJC has convened more than 120 interactive events under the Egyptian Foundation of Medical Sciences (EFMS) umbrella, supplemented by masterclasses, simulation-based forums, and hands-on workshops that prioritize breast, thoracic, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary malignancies. A deliberate emphasis on evidence-based, resource-adapted protocols underpins these activities, fostering context-appropriate decision-making through case-linked learning and live audience polling. Independent assessments and post-event surveys demonstrate significant gains in participants' knowledge retention, clinical confidence, and treatment-planning skills, particularly among practitioners in peripheral or resource-constrained settings. Moreover, CJC's digital extensions (including livestreamed symposia and moderated social-media discussion boards) have expanded its national footprint, yielding > 30,000 cumulative virtual attendances (unique live logins and on-demand viewers from 2019-2024) and markedly lowering geographic access barriers. Building on this momentum, CJC will launch international virtual tumor boards with partners in Egypt, North Africa, the Levant, the Gulf, and globally; establish structured mentoring for early-career oncologists and allied professionals across the region; introduce AI-enabled adaptive learning modules; and develop accredited postgraduate certificate programs aligned with WHO competency frameworks. Future evaluation will also examine educational and practice impact, with a focus on expanding training, mentoring, and scholarly outputs. CJC's experience illustrates how a regional, volunteer-driven initiative can bridge oncology-education disparities through blended, scalable learning models. Its planned innovations offer a replicable blueprint for other LMIC contexts seeking to strengthen cancer-care capacity through sustained professional development and digital inclusion.