2026 Psychopharmacology in Cancer Care: An Update for Clinicians of All Disciplines

Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Psycho-Oncology Education & Training Institute (POETI) is pleased to present the 2026 Psychopharmacology in Cancer Care course, an established educational program offered for more than a decade and designed for clinicians across disciplines who care for patients with cancer.

Cancer patients commonly experience depression, anxiety, and other distressing psychological and physical symptoms related to their illness or its treatment. While oncologists and general practitioners often prescribe psychiatric medications, these conditions remain commonly underdiagnosed and undertreated, and many oncology settings lack dedicated psycho-oncology specialists. As a result, patients may experience unmanaged symptoms between visits, underscoring the critical role of psychologists, nurses, and social workers in recognizing symptoms, monitoring medication effects, and providing frontline psychosocial support.

This annual course provides an evidence-based overview of psychopharmacologic management of anxiety, depression, delirium, sleep disturbances, pain, fatigue, and appetite changes in adult cancer patients. The program also examines emerging therapies — including ketamine, medical cannabis, and psilocybin — highlighting their potential benefits, risks, and clinical considerations, while emphasizing the essential role of clinical social work in comprehensive care.

Participants will learn to differentiate psychological responses to medical illness from psychiatric disorders and medical presentations of psychiatric conditions. The course will review common medical complications related to psychiatric conditions and their treatments, and provide foundational guidance on medications used to manage quality-of-life symptoms across the cancer continuum. Participants will also explore the rationale for selecting or avoiding specific therapies, including benefits, side effects, and drug interactions, to strengthen patient education and clinical decision-making.

Target Audience: This course is relevant for clinicians of all disciplines involved in cancer care, including psychiatrists, psycho-oncologists, oncologists, palliative care physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and counselors.

Syllabus: After the course concludes, participants will receive access to an online syllabus that includes additional resources, recorded presentations, and PDFs of the slides.

1. Describe basic psycho-pharmaco-oncology principles for understanding and treating anxiety, depression and delirium in people with cancer.
2. Discuss basic psycho-pharmaco-oncology principles for understanding and improving quality of life and psychiatric palliative care in people with cancer, including managing cognitive changes, insomnia, fatigue, poor appetite and weight loss, and pain.
3. Identify the use of novel interventions including ketamine, medical marijuana, and psilocybin for depression, anxiety, and pain in people with cancer.

This program will be held virtually via Zoom. Detailed access instructions will be provided prior to the start of the program.

Registration Fees

• Physicians (MDs, PhDs, DOs): $200

• Residents, Fellows, Advanced Practice Providers, Nurses, and Other Healthcare Professionals: $125

• Industry Professionals*: $350

• MSK Employees: Complimentary

Registration Discounts: Discounted registration is available for specific groups. If eligible, you will receive further instructions and a promotion code to use during registration. View our policy on Registration Discounts for more information.

Cancellation Policy: For details on our cancellation terms, please review our Cancellation Policy.

*An industry professional is defined as any individual, irrespective of their provider type (such as MDs, PhDs, APPs, RNs, etc.) that is employed by an ineligible company. Please review our Registration Policy for Industry Professionals for more information.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA Credit Designation Statement

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center designates this live activity for a maximum of 7.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ABIM MOC Recognition Statement

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 7.50 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Continuing Education for Licensed Psychologists in New York State*

This event offers 7.50 NYS Psychology Contact Hours.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is recognized by the New York State Education Department State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0166

Accreditation Pending

Applications have been submitted for ANCC Nursing Contact Hours and Social Work Contact Hours.

*Not all states accept New York State contact hours. Please check with the licensing board in your state for guidance on their acceptance of the credit types offered for this course

Course Faculty 

Yesne Alici, MD
Course Director 
Vice Chair for Clinical Operations; 
Clinical Director; Associate Attending Psychiatrist, Psychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

William S. Breitbart, MD
Course Co-Director 
Attending Psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences;
Attending Psychiatrist, Supportive Care Service, Department of Medicine
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Erik Bengtsen, MD
Director of Clinical Operations, Manhattan Ambulatory Sites; 
Assistant Attending Psychiatrist, Psychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Christian Bjerre Real, MD, MMCI, FAPA
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Natalie Moryl (Khojainova), MD
Attending Physician, Department of Medicine, Supportive Care Service, Addiction Medicine
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Andrew Roth, MD
Emeritus Attending Psychiatrist, Psychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Christine Wilkins, PhD
Director, Department of Social Work
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Mitigation of Relevant Financial Relationships

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity, including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others are required to disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies (commercial interests). All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.