The oncology course was first established at the Vinnytsia Medical Institute in 1968. It was created and headed by Mykola Maksymovych Shevchenko, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor. The training base of the course was the oncology department with 50 beds, the base was located on the ground floor of the surgical building of Vinnytsia Regional Hospital named after M. I. Pirogov. Teaching was conducted for subordinators, therapeutic, surgical and obstetric and gynecological cycles on a two-week program. At that time, the course had two teachers – Associate Professor M. M. Shevchenko and assistant M. M. Pogulyayko.

In 1976, in connection with the expansion of the medical base of the Vinnytsia Regional Oncology Dispensary, the oncology course was relocated to the base of the specified dispensary. The oncology dispensary at that time was located in the premises of the former regional tuberculosis dispensary.

One surgical department with 60 beds has been allocated as a training base for the oncology course. The oncology teachers included associate professor M. M. Shevchenko (head of the course), PhD assistants D. D. Shulga, assistants M. M. Pogulyayko and N. I. Petrashov. The latter taught hemoblastosis on the basis of the regional hospital named after M. I. Pirogov in the hematology department. The teaching program has not changed, and the educational process in oncology was conducted on 3 cycles of subordination (surgical, therapeutic and gynecological).

In 1981, the construction of the premises of a new multidisciplinary regional oncology dispensary was completed, in which all the necessary specialized departments were created. The number of hospital beds has increased to 350. This allowed the oncology course to get new modern study premises which consisted of 2 classrooms, a laboratory and ancillary facilities.

The transition of the oncology dispensary to the newly built premises allowed to expand the medical and educational base of oncology, and, therefore, in early 1982 a second new oncology course was created for the faculty of advanced training of doctors. It was created by the candidate of medical sciences, associate professor Bolyukh Boris Afanasievich. In addition to the head of the FUL oncology course, associate professors I. F. Godlevsky, assistants M. M. Pohulyayko and M. I. Shanchuk worked on the FUL oncology course. The training was conducted in a 1.5-month program and covered the improvement of doctors of the general medical network (district oncologists, surgeons, therapists, district doctors, etc.). For this course, two classrooms were allocated, and the necessary material needs, projection equipment and textbooks were provided.

From January 1, 1986 the course of oncology of FUL was liquidated, and the course of oncology of the medical faculty comprising three teachers Bolyukh B. A., Shevchenko and M. M., Shanchuk M. I. was attached to the Department of Radiology, and the Department of Radiology and Oncology was established. Associate Professor O. V. Kowalski was appointed the Head of the Department. Since 1986, the oncology teaching program has changed significantly. A new program of oncology was introduced as an independent discipline in the 5th year of the 46-hour program. It includes 14 hours of lectures and 32 hours of practical classes. Changes have also taken place in the teaching of oncology in the 6th year. In connection with the abolition of profile cycles, all groups of subordinators began to study on a single 34-hour program.

On September 1, 1988, the oncology course was separated from the Department of Radiology and attached to the Department of Surgery of the Faculty of Pediatrics. This department was headed by Professor Taras Adamovych Kadoshchuk. As part of such a department, the oncology course was autonomous and worked according to the program from 1986 to September 1992. There were no personnel changes or oncology teaching programs during this period.

In August 1992, the Department of Radiology and the course of medical radiology of postgraduate education were merged with the course of oncology into one department which was named the Department of Oncology, Radiation Diagnosis and Radiation Therapy. The department was headed by Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Bolyukh Boris Afanasievich. Associate professors M. M. Shevchenko and V. S. Tarasyuk worked as teachers of oncology at the new department, and assistants were candidates of medical sciences M. P. Kavka and V. G. Orlov who worked at the department until 1995.

Within the new department both radiology courses have retained the structure and independent teaching program that existed before the merging. The course of oncology after the merging in 1992 also did not change the previously existing composition and structure of the unit. Prof. Bolyukh B. A. taught oncology. The oncology teaching program has also remained unchanged. During the reorganization of the department the assistant Shanchuk M. I. left the teachers, and in 1993 the assistant Kakarkin O. Ya. was elected to the vacant position. From 1992 to 1996 the candidate of medical sciences, associate professor Tarasyuk Volodymyr Semenovych who simultaneously worked as the director of Vinnytsia Medical School. Being on the basis of the regional oncology dispensary, the Department of Oncology uses all diagnostic and treatment departments of the dispensary for its educational and scientific work.

In connection with new trends in the country, the staff of the department has improved and translated into the state (Ukrainian) language methodological development of practical classes. Maps of control of the initial and final level of knowledge of students with standards of answers were created. All methodical materials were created and improved with the requirements of the unified methodical system offered by the educational department of the university.

To conduct a test control of knowledge, the department has accumulated about 3 thousand tests in the state and Russian languages ​​(for Ukrainian and foreign students), with lectures being improved as well. There are electronic versions and printed texts of lectures on all topics. All necessary visual materials are created for them: tables, drawings, scans, slides, movies, multimedia films. In addition, diagnostic pedagogical devices and devices owned by the oncology dispensary are used in the pedagogical process. Currently, the team teaches oncology according to the Bologna system.

In 2010, the department moved the teaching of oncology to a new program under the Bologna system. According to this system of teaching, a 90-hour program is planned, 60 hours of which are allocated for classes in the clinic and 30 hours as independent extracurricular training. Out of 60 teaching hours, 10 are designated for lectures (5 lectures) and 50 hours of practical training (25 classes). For practical classes, 24 topics have been identified, which set out the most common localizations of malignant neoplasms.

The team created all the necessary methodological materials to study oncology according to the Bologna system. Such materials include 24 methodological developments for teachers, 24 methodological developments for self-preparation of students, tests of knowledge control and tasks on all topics of classes. Methodical developments for students and materials of knowledge control are prepared in three languages ​​(Ukrainian, English, Russian). All visual aids of the department are conducted in accordance with the new educational system and program. Employees of the department (Khurani I. F., Kakarkin O. Ya. and Kovalchuk A. P.) published a manual of tests and tasks entitled “Fundamentals of Clinical Oncology”.

The staff of the oncology course, together with the researchers of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection of Vinnytsia National Technical University, conducts research work on early diagnosis of human melanoma by human spectrophotometry of the primary tumor and the method of luminescent blood analysis. The scientific supervisors of this problem are prof. B.A. Bolyukh and prof of Vinnytsia Polytechnic Institute, DSc. in Engineering Petruk V. G.

Teachers of the department also carry out publishing work. In 1997 the first textbook on oncology (author Prof. Bolyukh B. A.) was published under the title “Lectures on clinical oncology”. In 2000, prof. Bolyukh BA released an expanded and improved similar manual for medical university students with a circulation of 1,500 copies in two languages ​​(1,000 copies in Ukrainian and 500 copies in Russian) under the seal of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

In order to teach students in oncology according to the Bologna system, the staff of the department issued a manual for independent preparation of 5th year students for practical classes marked by the Ministry of Education and Science (2012) entitled “Clinic and treatment of malignant neoplasms” (edited by Prof. B. A. Bolyukha) in two languages.

In the same year (2012), scientifically edited and co-authored by prof. Bolyukh B. A., a new textbook “Clinical Oncology” was published for interns, clinical residents, graduate students and general practitioners, the book was published in Vinnytsia, 2012, 708 pages, amounting to 1,000 copies, in Ukrainian language. There are 32 sections in the manual, each section covers information about tumors of a particular organ or system. Each section outlines tumors of a separate organ (epithelial and non-epithelial), then materials on malignant epithelial (cancer and carcinoid) and non-epithelial (sarcomas, lymphomas and others) tumors are presented. In addition to the description of tumors of frequent localizations, the manual covers neoplasms that are very rare: small intestine, peritoneum, intestinal mesentery, biliary tract, spleen, heart, pleura. Important sections such as oncourology, oncogynecology, hemoblastosis, tumors of endocrine organs are singled out.

The structure of coverage of each malignant tumor is standard and reflects the epidemiology of the tumor, its etiology, histological and macroscopic forms, localization in the body. Distribution pathways (infiltrative growth, hematogenous and lymphogenic metastases), TNM classification and grouping by stages are shown. When describing the clinical manifestations, the emphasis is on the detection of the first signs of a malignant process and on the early diagnosis of the disease. Treatment of malignant tumors is covered from the standpoint of the standards of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

Since 2013, the department has been headed by Doctor of Medicine, Prof. Kostyuk Alexander Grigorovich. He defended his doctoral dissertation in 2012, and in 2017 he received the academic title of professor. He has more than 80 publications, including journals indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science scientometric databases. He has repeatedly acted as a speaker at numerous scientific and practical conferences, including with international participation, and the Congress of Oncologists of Ukraine. He is widely engaged in scientific and practical surgical activities on the basis of the urology department of the PRCO, is the scientific supervisor of 3 candidate dissertations and a co-author of the national textbook on oncology.

In 2015, the doctoral dissertation of Assoc. Lysenko S. A. was defended, and in December 2018 he was awarded the academic title of Professor of the Department. In 2018, the candidate’s dissertation was defended at the department by assistant Tkachuk T. V., 3 graduate students are working on the implementation of candidate dissertations.

Currently, the Department of Radiation Diagnostics, Radiation Therapy and Oncology employs 3 doctors of medical sciences (Prof. Kostyuk O. G., Prof. Lysenko S. A., MD Shamray V. A. — Chief Physician of Podolsk Regional Center for Oncology), 4 associate professors (Assoc. Prof. Kakarkin O. Ya. — Head of the educational part of the department, curator of the surgical department, Assoc. Prof. Tkach A. A. — curator of the thoracic department, Assoc. Prof. Dronenko V. G. — curator of the mammalogy department, Assoc. Bolyukh D. B. – resident doctor of the surgical department of the PRCO), assistant Pechevisty O. M. — curator of the department of tumors of the head and neck PRCO, 6 candidates of medical sciences (assistant Smiyukha O. A. — curator of the student scientific group on the basis of the department, assistant Tkachuk T. V. — curator of the chemotherapy department, assistant Kovalchuk A. P. — Head of the Surgical Department, Assistant Professor Tserkovnyuk R. G. — Head of the Urology Department, Assistant Professor Fedzhaga I. P. — Resident Doctor of the Head and Neck Tumors Department, Assistant Professor Mashevska O. V. — Anesthesiologist of the PRCO).

Recently, close cooperation has been established between the Department of Radiation Diagnostics, Radiation Therapy and Oncology of VNMU named after M. I. Pirogov and Podolsk Regional Oncology Center. Scientific and practical conferences with international participation have been held several times, joint clinical trials are being conducted, the results of which are constantly being implemented in the medical practice of the PRCO. Employees of the department conduct consultative work in departments, polyclinics and medical institutions of Vinnytsia region.

Department of Oncology, X-ray Diagnostics and Therapy
The Oncology course was first established at the Vinnytsia Medical Institute in 1968. It was created and headed by Mykola Maksymovych Shevchenko, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor. The training base of the course was the oncology department with 50 beds, the base was located on the ground floor of the surgical building of Vinnytsia Regional Hospital named after M. I. Pirogov. Teaching was conducted for subordinators, therapeutic, surgical and obstetric and gynecological cycles on a two-week program. At that time, the course had two teachers — Associate Professor M. M. Shevchenko and assistant M. M. Pogulyayko.
In 1976, in connection with the expansion of the medical base of the Vinnytsia Regional Oncology Dispensary, the oncology course was relocated to the base of the specified dispensary. The oncology dispensary at that time was located in the premises of the former regional tuberculosis dispensary.
One surgical department with 60 beds has been allocated as a training base for the oncology course. The oncology teachers included associate professor M. M. Shevchenko (head of the course), PhD assistants D. D. Shulga, assistants M. M. Pogulyayko and N. I. Petrashov. The latter taught hemoblastosis on the basis of the regional hospital named after M. I. Pirogov in the hematology department. The teaching program has not changed, and the educational process in oncology was conducted on 3 cycles of subordination (surgical, therapeutic and gynecological).
In 1981, the construction of the premises of a new multidisciplinary regional oncology dispensary was completed, in which all the necessary specialized departments were created. The number of hospital beds has increased to 350. This allowed the oncology course to get new modern study premises which consisted of 2 classrooms, a laboratory and ancillary facilities.
The transition of the oncology dispensary to the newly built premises allowed to expand the medical and educational base of oncology, and, therefore, in early 1982 a second new oncology course was created for the faculty of advanced training of doctors. It was created by the candidate of medical sciences, associate professor Bolyukh Boris Afanasievich. In addition to the head of the FUL oncology course, associate professors I. F. Godlevsky, assistants M. M. Pohulyayko and M. I. Shanchuk worked on the FUL oncology course. The training was conducted in a 1.5-month program and covered the improvement of doctors of the general medical network (district oncologists, surgeons, therapists, district doctors, etc.). For this course, two classrooms were allocated, and the necessary material needs, projection equipment and textbooks were provided.
From January 1, 1986 the course of oncology of FUL was liquidated, and the course of oncology of the medical faculty comprising three teachers Bolyukh B. A., Shevchenko and M. M., Shanchuk M. I. was attached to the Department of Radiology, and the Department of Radiology and Oncology was established. Associate Professor O. V. Kowalski was appointed the Head of the Department. Since 1986, the oncology teaching program has changed significantly. A new program of oncology was introduced as an independent discipline in the 5th year of the 46-hour program. It includes 14 hours of lectures and 32 hours of practical classes. Changes have also taken place in the teaching of oncology in the 6th year. In connection with the abolition of profile cycles, all groups of subordinators began to study on a single 34-hour program.
On September 1, 1988, the oncology course was separated from the Department of Radiology and attached to the Department of Surgery of the Faculty of Pediatrics. This department was headed by Professor Taras Adamovych Kadoshchuk. As part of such a department, the oncology course was autonomous and worked according to the program from 1986 to September 1992. There were no personnel changes or oncology teaching programs during this period.
In August 1992, the Department of Radiology and the course of medical radiology of postgraduate education were merged with the course of oncology into one department which was named the Department of Oncology, Radiation Diagnosis and Radiation Therapy. The department was headed by Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Bolyukh Boris Afanasievich. Associate professors M. M. Shevchenko and V. S. Tarasyuk worked as teachers of oncology at the new department, and assistants were candidates of medical sciences M. P. Kavka and V. G. Orlov who worked at the department until 1995.
Within the new department both radiology courses have retained the structure and independent teaching program that existed before the merging. The course of oncology after the merging in 1992 also did not change the previously existing composition and structure of the unit. Prof. Bolyukh B. A. taught oncology. The oncology teaching program has also remained unchanged. During the reorganization of the department the assistant Shanchuk M. I. left the teachers, and in 1993 the assistant Kakarkin O. Ya. was elected to the vacant position. From 1992 to 1996 the candidate of medical sciences, associate professor Tarasyuk Volodymyr Semenovych who simultaneously worked as the director of Vinnytsia Medical School. Being on the basis of the regional oncology dispensary, the Department of Oncology uses all diagnostic and treatment departments of the dispensary for its educational and scientific work.
In connection with new trends in the country, the staff of the department has improved and translated into the state (Ukrainian) language methodological development of practical classes. Maps of control of the initial and final level of knowledge of students with standards of answers were created. All methodical materials were created and improved with the requirements of the unified methodical system offered by the educational department of the university.
To conduct a test control of knowledge, the department has accumulated about 3 thousand tests in the state and Russian languages ​​(for Ukrainian and foreign students), with lectures being improved as well. There are electronic versions and printed texts of lectures on all topics. All necessary visual materials are created for them: tables, drawings, scans, slides, movies, multimedia films. In addition, diagnostic pedagogical devices and devices owned by the oncology dispensary are used in the pedagogical process. Currently, the team teaches oncology according to the Bologna system.
In 2010, the department moved the teaching of oncology to a new program under the Bologna system. According to this system of teaching, a 90-hour program is planned, 60 hours of which are allocated for classes in the clinic and 30 hours as independent extracurricular training. Out of 60 teaching hours, 10 are designated for lectures (5 lectures) and 50 hours of practical training (25 classes). For practical classes, 24 topics have been identified, which set out the most common localizations of malignant neoplasms.
The team created all the necessary methodological materials to study oncology according to the Bologna system. Such materials include 24 methodological developments for teachers, 24 methodological developments for self-preparation of students, tests of knowledge control and tasks on all topics of classes. Methodical developments for students and materials of knowledge control are prepared in three languages ​​(Ukrainian, English, Russian). All visual aids of the department are conducted in accordance with the new educational system and program. Employees of the department (Khurani I. F., Kakarkin O. Ya. and Kovalchuk A. P.) published a manual of tests and tasks entitled “Fundamentals of Clinical Oncology”.
The staff of the oncology course, together with the researchers of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection of Vinnytsia National Technical University, conducts research work on early diagnosis of human melanoma by human spectrophotometry of the primary tumor and the method of luminescent blood analysis. The scientific supervisors of this problem are prof. B.A. Bolyukh and prof of Vinnytsia Polytechnic Institute, DSc. in Engineering Petruk V. G.
Teachers of the department also carry out publishing work. In 1997 the first textbook on oncology (author Prof. Bolyukh B. A.) was published under the title “Lectures on clinical oncology”. In 2000, prof. Bolyukh BA released an expanded and improved similar manual for medical university students with a circulation of 1,500 copies in two languages ​​(1,000 copies in Ukrainian and 500 copies in Russian) under the seal of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
In order to teach students in oncology according to the Bologna system, the staff of the department issued a manual for independent preparation of 5th year students for practical classes marked by the Ministry of Education and Science (2012) entitled “Clinic and treatment of malignant neoplasms” (edited by Prof. B. A. Bolyukha) in two languages.
In the same year (2012), scientifically edited and co-authored by prof. Bolyukh B. A., a new textbook “Clinical Oncology” was published for interns, clinical residents, graduate students and general practitioners, the book was published in Vinnytsia, 2012, 708 pages, amounting to 1,000 copies, in Ukrainian language. There are 32 sections in the manual, each section covers information about tumors of a particular organ or system. Each section outlines tumors of a separate organ (epithelial and non-epithelial), then materials on malignant epithelial (cancer and carcinoid) and non-epithelial (sarcomas, lymphomas and others) tumors are presented. In addition to the description of tumors of frequent localizations, the manual covers neoplasms that are very rare: small intestine, peritoneum, intestinal mesentery, biliary tract, spleen, heart, pleura. Important sections such as oncourology, oncogynecology, hemoblastosis, tumors of endocrine organs are singled out.
The structure of coverage of each malignant tumor is standard and reflects the epidemiology of the tumor, its etiology, histological and macroscopic forms, localization in the body. Distribution pathways (infiltrative growth, hematogenous and lymphogenic metastases), TNM classification and grouping by stages are shown. When describing the clinical manifestations, the emphasis is on the detection of the first signs of a malignant process and on the early diagnosis of the disease. Treatment of malignant tumors is covered from the standpoint of the standards of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
Since 2013, the department has been headed by Doctor of Medicine, Prof. Kostyuk Alexander Grigorovich. He defended his doctoral dissertation in 2012, and in 2017 he received the academic title of professor. He has more than 80 publications, including journals indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science scientometric databases. He has repeatedly acted as a speaker at numerous scientific and practical conferences, including with international participation, and the Congress of Oncologists of Ukraine. He is widely engaged in scientific and practical surgical activities on the basis of the urology department of the PRCO, is the scientific supervisor of 3 candidate dissertations and a co-author of the national textbook on oncology.
In 2015, the doctoral dissertation of Assoc. Lysenko S. A. was defended, and in December 2018 he was awarded the academic title of Professor of the Department. In 2018, the candidate’s dissertation was defended at the department by assistant Tkachuk T. V., 3 graduate students are working on the implementation of candidate dissertations.
Currently, the Department of Radiation Diagnostics, Radiation Therapy and Oncology employs 3 doctors of medical sciences (Prof. Kostyuk O. G., Prof. Lysenko S. A., MD Shamray V. A. — Chief Physician of Podolsk Regional Center for Oncology), 4 associate professors (Assoc. Prof. Kakarkin O. Ya. — Head of the educational part of the department, curator of the surgical department, Assoc. Prof. Tkach A. A. — curator of the thoracic department, Assoc. Prof. Dronenko V. G. — curator of the mammalogy department, Assoc. Bolyukh D. B. – resident doctor of the surgical department of the PRCO), assistant Pechevisty O. M. — curator of the department of tumors of the head and neck PRCO, 6 candidates of medical sciences (assistant Smiyukha O. A. — curator of the student scientific group on the basis of the department, assistant Tkachuk T. V. — curator of the chemotherapy department, assistant Kovalchuk A. P. — Head of the Surgical Department, Assistant Professor Tserkovnyuk R. G. — Head of the Urology Department, Assistant Professor Fedzhaga I. P. — Resident Doctor of the Head and Neck Tumors Department, Assistant Professor Mashevska O. V. — Anesthesiologist of the PRCO).
Recently, close cooperation has been established between the Department of Radiation Diagnostics, Radiation Therapy and Oncology of VNMU named after M. I. Pirogov and Podolsk Regional Oncology Center. Scientific and practical conferences with international participation have been held several times, joint clinical trials are being conducted, the results of which are constantly being implemented in the medical practice of the PRCO. Employees of the department conduct consultative work in departments, polyclinics and medical institutions of Vinnytsia region.