Oncology

Optimising MUO/CUP Diagnostic and Treatment Pathways

Online Conference, 6 CPD Hours

Thu 23 Apr 2026

Taking one day out to benchmark and network beyond your service

This annual online forum offers a unique opportunity for you to reflect on current practice and discover new ideas to streamline your MUO/CUP pathways and enhance patient experience. Each year, Advanced Nursing and Clinical Specialists, Medical Oncology and Consultant Physicians, and Diagnostics and Imaging Specialists come together to share how trusts are strengthening referrals and integrating their services.

This forum provides a valuable opportunity for you to explore optimal diagnostic pathways and identify how to deliver best practice palliative care to advance clinical outcomes for your patients.

Improving your practice

Enhance your knowledge with expert led, structured NHS learning

Participants on the day left with actionable insights and the skills to provide elevated care to patients navigating the MUO/CUP pathway. They also benefitted from presentations and discussions on:

Enhancing referrals and service integration
Improving clinical decisions with effective diagnostics
Clinical considerations for holistic treatment planning in MUO/CUP
Delivering best practice palliative care for MUO/CUP patients
Establishing processes to enhance support for your MUO/CUP patients

Convenient remote learning

6 CPD hours

Designed as an interactive and practical learning experience, this dedicated training day equipped the delegates with the knowledge, tools and strategies to drive meaningful change:

Meet like-minded professionals from across the country
Take part in engaging exercises, guided discussions and collaborative idea-sharing
Ask critical questions and gain guidance from the speakers
Build on your skills to support patients on their journey

Supported by:

SBK Healthcare would like to thank World Cup Alliance for their continued support.

Learning & development

Oncology National Networking Forums are pleased to be featured as part of the ACCEND Framework

The ePortfolio platform is available via the Greater Manchester Cancer Academy and supports professional development in cancer care.

This forum and all of our events are mapped to the ACCEND Framework and can be recorded in the ACCEND ePortfolio to help you evidence your learning, reflections and competencies.

To find out more, click on the ACCEND tab.

9:00	Join, tech support and opportunity to network in your meeting room
9:30	Chair’s opening remarks and introductions Dr Pavel Bezecny, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Enhancing referrals and service integration
9:40	Streamlining primary care and outpatient referrals to improve patient pathways Improving communication with primary care to reduce late-stage presentations and prevent avoidable A&E admissions Balancing early referral vs risk of being used as a diagnostic service for site specific cancers Establishing clear and effective criteria for appropriate CUP referral pathways Seamlessly integrating AOS and MUO/CUP to enhance early identification and referrals Case study: Plymouth NHS Trust Referrals Kenza Smith and Laura Evenden, Acute Oncology CNS, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
10:10	Questions and answers with Kenza Smith and Laura Evenden
10:20	Interactive discussion: Enhancing communication and referral pathways Discuss process improvements you would like to see in your MDT to improve referrals and patient outcomes How do you integrate AOS and MUO services to enhance outcomes? How do you communicate with primary care to reduce late-stage presentations? What alternative pathways for vague symptoms do you have in place to avoid unnecessary delays?
10:35	Feedback from interactive session: Enhancing communication and referral pathways
10:45	Screen break
Creating an optimal diagnostic pathway
11:00	Improving clinical decisions with effective diagnostics Maximising the impact of PET scans to support clinical decision making Exploring the role of next generation sequencing (NGS) in diagnostics Case study: distinguishing malignancy from masquerading conditions eg. sarcoidosis Martin Downey, Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service Clinical Lead and Associate Medical Director for Access, NHS Lanarkshire
11:30	Questions and answers with Martin Downey
11:40	Interactive discussion: Diagnostic pathways and management of uncertain cases How are you using and integrating NGS in your diagnostic pathway? What strategies do you use to mitigate the issue of masquerading conditions in your practice? How do you manage patients with an uncertain diagnosis?
11:55	Feedback from interactive discussion: Diagnostic pathways and management of uncertain cases
12:05	Lunch break
Clinical considerations for holistic treatment planning in MUO/CUP
12:40	Key considerations for systemic anticancer therapy in CUP Reviewing patient selection for chemotherapy Understanding treatment intent and goals in CUP Exploring current treatment options What treatment options can we expect (or hope for) in the near future? Dr Pavel Bezecny, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
1:10	Questions and answers with Dr Pavel Bezecny
1:20	Delivering best practice palliative care for MUO/CUP patients Implementing effective tools to manage difficult conversations with patients and families Facilitating advanced care planning for patients: best practice approaches Managing complex symptoms effectively, such as fatigue and nausea Supporting psychological needs of patients and families Jon Tomas, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
1:50	Questions and answers with Jon Tomas
2:00	Interactive discussion: Improving your palliative care support and services How do you navigate an emotionally difficult conversation? How do you document or communicate palliative care conversations with the wider care team? How do you support family members emotionally during palliative care? What improvements or developments are you currently making to your palliative care support and services?
2:15	Feedback from interactive session: Improving your palliative care support and services
2:25	Screen break
Improving patient experience and support
2:35	Establishing processes to enhance support for your MUO/CUP patients Recognising the need for emotional and wellbeing support during a lengthy diagnosis process Considering and implementing effective changes following patient feedback Understanding how your patients want to be supported and adapting your service Gus Seebaran, Cancer Support Specialist, Maggie’s Trust Southampton
3:05	Questions and answers with your speaker
3:15	Interactive discussion: Improving support for your MUO/CUP patients How do you currently aim to support your MUO/CUP patients? What support do they ask for? How do you try to incorporate this into your team? What external support systems do you signpost for your patients? What does survivorship care look like for patients who are integrating back into normal life?
3:30	Feedback from interactive discussion: Improving support for your MUO/CUP patients
3:40	Close of day

With thanks to the speakers

This annual online forum brought together multidisciplinary teams to share best practice in MUO/CUP pathways, diagnostics and palliative care, supporting better patient experience and clinical outcomes.

Expert advice, examples of best practice and novel ideas were shared from:

Jon Tomas

Consultant in Palliative Medicine

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

Biography

Dr Pavel Bezecny

Consultant Medical Oncologist

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Biography

Kenza Smith

Acute Oncology CNS

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Laura Evenden

Acute Oncology CNS

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Gus Seebaran

Cancer Support Specialist

Maggie’s Trust Southampton

Martin Downey

Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service Clinical Lead and Associate Medical Director for Access

NHS Lanarkshire

Who came?

This online event was ideal for NHS professionals within MUO/CUP multi-disciplinary teams, strengthening clinical knowledge, confidence and ability to improve patient experience and service efficiency.

We were joined by the likes of:

AOS, NSS and MUO/CUP Clinical Nurse Specialists
Acute Oncologists
Rapid Diagnostic Leads
Consultants
Haematology Nurses
Advanced Nurse Practitioners
Radiologists
Healthcare Scientists
Clinical Research Fellows
Directors Medical Oncology

Past attendee feedback

With over 250 people attending and watching our MUO/CUP webinar and with over 1300 professionals taking part in our online oncology events, don’t miss out. Our focused MUO/CUP events garnered brilliant feedback, including ‘Streamlining MUO/CUP Pathways’, which took place in 2025, which was described as ‘ excellent’ and ‘informative’. Find out what more your community had to say…

‘Incredibly informative, all relevant information’

- South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, Streamlining MUO/CUP Pathways, 2025

‘Found the online presentations extremely engaging, informative and critical to the ongoing challenges and how to improve’

- Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, Streamlining MUO/CUP Pathways, 2025

‘Good networking and understanding different service provision and challenges’

- Doncaster & Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Trust, Streamlining MUO/CUP Pathways, 2025

‘Very informative, food for thought and great networking’

- Wessex Cancer Alliance, Enhancing your MUO/ CUP Pathways, 2023

‘Excellent, really great talks’

- Northumbria Healthcare, Enhancing your MUO/ CUP Pathways, 2023

‘Very well organised, all speakers were great and topics discussed were relevant to my role Informative session’

- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Enhancing your MUO/ CUP Pathways, 2023

‘Very informative and interactive event, regarding MUO/CUP genetics, services, pathways and surrounding pathways’

- University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, Enhancing your MUO/ CUP Pathways, 2023

‘Very well organised, well delivered and presented. I have benefited greatly from today and would love to attend future study days’

- East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Enhancing your MUO/ CUP Pathways, 2023

View further comments on Oncology National Networking Forums on Trust Pilot.

About the ACCEND Framework

The ACCEND Framework is designed to enhance cancer care by providing a structured approach to education and professional development for healthcare professionals.

It defines the essential Cancer Capabilities in Practice (CiPs) and offers a tailored educational structure to support progression at every stage of a cancer care career.
Launched in January 2023, the framework aims to transform career pathways and improve training and development opportunities across the cancer workforce.
It provides access to the education and training needed to meet role-specific competencies and includes dedicated resources for nurses, allied health professionals and those in cancer-related support roles.
The ACCEND Framework delivers a nationally agreed career and education structure underpinned by clearly defined capabilities in practice.

Map your learning

All Oncology National Networking Forum courses listed on the Greater Manchester Cancer Academy’s ACCEND ePortfolio are fully aligned with the ACCEND Framework.

You can easily log your attendance and map your learning to the Cancer Capabilities in Practice (CiPs) through the ACCEND ePortfolio.

To do this:

Register and log in to the ePortfolio
Click ‘Add Entry’
Select 'Choose an item from the library'
Change the provider to Oncology National Networking Forums
Choose the relevant event you have attended (or plan to attend)

This tool offers a central space to track your professional development, reflections and achievements - supporting your ongoing career in cancer care.

Click here to access the ePortfolio

Sponsorship engagement

Our role at SBK Healthcare is to bring industry together with healthcare professionals so that you can educate and inform your audience. These trail-blazing oncology delivery forums offer dedicated presentations, Q&A, networking and discussion time, each sponsor will be fully immersed into the event and able to effectively engage with your NHS audience.

Your event, managed by us

SBK Healthcare also provides in-house forums. Working closely with you as the client we can research, produce, market and deliver the conference or online forum that best suits the audience and meets your goals.

Reach out today

If you would like more information on our sponsorship options an in-house forum or if you wish to discuss your needs and what solutions may be appropriate for your business, please contact:

Vanessa Pearce
Contact: 01732 897788
Email: vanessa.pearce@sbk-healthcare.co.uk

Optimising MUO/CUP Diagnostic and Treatment Pathways