The first entity dedicated to cancer was established named “Nuclear Medical Center” with a single radiotherapy unit in 1969. Since then, the concept of oncology has rapidly progressed with the establishment of a division of oncology in the University of Damascus, School of Medicine with six staff members at that time. In 2001, a National Cancer Registry was established with the help of the World Health Organization. Many civil societies related to cancer awareness, early detection, and care of patients bloomed, first being the Syrian Cancer Society.Now cancer diagnosis and treatment facilities are spread all over the county but mainly concentrated in Damascus, Lattakia, and Aleppo. All three main government related medical entities that are the Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Health, and the Medical Corps are involved in the process with the help of the private sector also. This progress of course was slowed due to the bloody aggression that engulfed Syria for 10 years of conflict. However, it did not halt the country’s goals and achievements.In 2006, Nuclear Medicine Centre was developed into a comprehensive institution for cancer, Al Bairouni University Hospital (ABUH) to provide free standard of care treatment for all citizens. The Syrian National Committee for cancer control (SNCCC) was established in June 2019 with a mission of strategic planning for better cancer management in collaboration with all stakeholders aiming to raise cancer services to the best possible standard in the post-war era. The chapters’ focus is to discuss cancer care services being provided in the country and future challenges that need to be addressed for high quality oncology care services in Syria.

Introduction: It is a well-known phenomenon that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs cause gastric mucosal damage. Amlodipine is a third generation dihydropyridine-type calcium channel blocker; it can inhibit inflammatory cytokines and enhance antioxidant defenses. N-acetylcysteine can act both as a precursor of reduced glutathione and as a direct ROS scavenger. Moreover, N-acetylcysteine has been purported to have anti-inflammatory properties. Materials and methods: 34 albino Wistar rats were used. The model of gastritis was induced by subcutaneous Indomethacin prepared in 5% sodium bicarbonate administered at a dose rate of 9 mg/kg for two days at 24h intervals. N-acetylcysteine (500 mg/kg), Amlodipine (10 mg/kg) and N-acetylcysteine (500 mg/kg) combined with Amlodipine (5 mg/kg) were administrated for seven consecutive days beginning 24 h after the first Indomethacin injection. Rats were sacrificed under ether anesthesia on the 8th day. The stomach injury was assessed by macroscopic damage and histological study. Results and discussion: The results showed that macroscopic stomach damage scores caused by administration of Indomethacin did not significantly decrease by administration of N-acetylcysteine alone (p>0.05), but it decreased significantly by administration of Amlodipine alone or by its combination with N-acetylcysteine (p<0.05). Microscopic stomach damage scores did not significantly decrease by administration of Amlodipine or N-acetylcysteine alone (p>0.05), but they decreased significantly by administering the combination of Amlodipine with N-acetylcysteine (p<0.05). Administration of Amlodipine with N-acetylcysteine showed significant reduction in the severity of the gastric inflammation induced by Indomethacin, which was evidenced macroscopically and microscopically. Conclusion: This study concluded that administration of Amlodipine with N-acetylcysteine produce obvious enhancement in gastritis induced by Indomethacin. Graphical abstract:

Purpose: The e-learning systems act as a powerful aid to traditional teaching to provide high-quality education. E-learning can improve the effectiveness of medical education by transferring knowledge easily. There is neither a virtual nor traditional educational program on palliative care in Syria. E-learning can improve medical education in Syria by transferring primary knowledge of palliative care to healthcare workers. This study aimed to develop an electronic educational program about palliative care basics. Methods: A nonprobability convenience sample of (19) Syrian healthcare workers was included. The General Model for Instructional Design (ADDIE) was used in developing the electronic educational program. The program's effectiveness was measured by using the valid Palliative Care Knowledge Test. The test was translated into Arabic. One-Group Pretest-Posttest design was adopted. A comparison between pre-test and post-test after the sample attended an electronic educational program on palliative care was conducted and its effect was measured. Results: The mean score of the sample in the pre-test about knowledge of the basics of palliative care was (59.74%), while mean score of the sample in the post-test was (98.94%), meaning that the level of knowledge increased by (39.21) after the intervention, where the effect was (0.97). Conclusion: There is a lack of primary knowledge of palliative care basics among the studied sample. The described program provides an innovative learning strategy on the basics of palliative care delivered in an asynchronous online format. E-programs are effective in transferring knowledge of palliative care.