Assia Konsoulova

Assia Konsoulova

Medical Oncologist

Breast Oncology

National Cancer Hospital in Sofia

Location Bulgaria, Sofia

Linkedin

Dr. Assia Konsoulova is a Senior Medical Oncologist and Internal Medicine specialist with extensive clinical and translational research experience across Europe. She currently serves as Chief of the Medical Oncology Clinic at the National Cancer Hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria, and as Associate Professor at the Comprehensive Cancer Center in Burgas. A graduate of the College of the European School of Oncology (ESO) and an ESO Ambassador, she is Chair of Women for Oncology Bulgaria and an auditor for the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) Accreditation and Designation programme. Her career has included fellowships at the Institut Jules Bordet in Brussels, AKH Vienna, and the Champalimaud Clinical Center in Lisbon, reflecting her broad international training in oncology and drug development.

Current Positions

  • Chief, Medical Oncology Clinic, National Cancer Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria (May 2022–present)
  • Associate Professor, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Burgas, Bulgaria (March 2021–present)
  • OECI Accreditation and Designation Programme Auditor, Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (October 2022–present)
  • ESO Ambassador, European School of Oncology (May 2020–present)
  • Chair, Women for Oncology Bulgaria
  • Privat Dozent, University Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov, Burgas, Bulgaria (September 2020–April 2026)

Education

  • Doctor of Medicine (MD), Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria, 1997–2003
  • Medical Oncology Residency Program, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium, 2006–2007
  • Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology Specialties; PhD in Medical Oncology, Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria, 2003–2016
  • Graduate, College of the European School of Oncology (ESCO), Clinical Oncology, January 2020–May 2021
  • Master’s Degree, Fundamentals of Clinical Research, Università degli Studi di Parma, Italy, 2014–2015 (as referenced in professional background)

Professional Experience

  • Praktisches Jahr in Internal Medicine, Friedrichstadt General Hospital, Dresden, Germany, 2002–2003
  • Assistant / Clinical Fellow, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium, March–September 2005
  • Clinical Fellow, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium, September 2006–September 2007
  • Assistant in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology, Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria, 2007–2018 (lectures and practical education of Bulgarian and English-speaking students)
  • Medical Oncologist, Sveta Marina University Hospital, Varna, Bulgaria, March 2003–January 2019
  • Research Fellow, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal, January–July 2018 (clinical protocol development of investigator-initiated protocols and data management)
  • CECOG Fellow, Universitätsklinikum AKH Wien, Vienna, Austria, October–December 2017
  • Medical Oncologist, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Burgas, Bulgaria, January 2019–September 2025
  • Associate Professor, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Burgas, Bulgaria, March 2021–present
  • Chief, Medical Oncology Clinic, National Cancer Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2022–present

Research Activity

  • Author and co-author of multiple investigator-initiated clinical protocols across institutions in Bulgaria, Portugal, and Belgium
  • Active contributor to translational research in breast cancer, colorectal cancer, melanoma, gynecological malignancies, and lung cancer
  • Editorial board member, Frontiers in Oncology (Sections: Women’s Cancer and Breast Cancer)
  • Research focus areas include biomarkers for anti-angiogenic therapy in colorectal cancer, miRNA expression as recurrence markers in colon cancer, male breast cancer biology and
  • outcomes in Eastern Europe, and treatment sequencing in metastatic breast cancer
  • Contributor to European multicenter studies on adolescents and young adults with cancer, lung cancer data collection, and cancer unknown primary management
  • Principal and co-investigator in national and international clinical trials, including studies in HR+/HER2− breast cancer, HER2-low breast cancer, EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, and non-small cell lung cancer in Central and Eastern Europe

Honors and Awards

  • Praktisches Jahr Award, Friedrichstadt General Hospital, Dresden, Germany
  • ESMO Grant for 6-week Clinical Unit Visit, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium
  • Grant FOSFOM – ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles)
  • National Grant “Teodora Zaharieva,” 2012–2013
  • Favourite Teacher of Graduate Students, 2014

Memberships / Affiliations

  • Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) – Accreditation and Designation Programme Auditor
  • European School of Oncology (ESO) – Ambassador and College Graduate
  • Women for Oncology – Chair, Bulgaria Chapter
  • European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)
  • Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) (collaborative contributor)
  • Bulgarian Oncological Society
  • Editorial Board, Frontiers in Oncology (Women’s Cancer and Breast Cancer sections)

Areas of Specialization

  • Breast oncology (including HR+, HER2+, HER2-low, TNBC, and male breast cancer)
  • Gynecological malignancies
  • Lung cancer and thoracic oncology
  • Colorectal cancer and biomarker research
  • Melanoma and cutaneous malignancies
  • Immuno-oncology and targeted therapy
  • miRNA and translational biomarker research
  • Cancer in adolescents and young adults
  • Cancer unknown primary
  • Gender equity in oncology

Publications

Dr. Konsoulova has authored and co-authored more than 80 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, conference abstracts, and oncology clinical guidelines in both English and Bulgarian.

Select Recent Publications:

Popović L, Borštnar S, Božović-Spasojević I, Cvetanović A, Konsoulova A, et al. “Treatment sequencing in metastatic HR+/HER2− breast cancer: a Delphi consensus.” Cancers 17(9):1412, 2025.

Preda AC, Krasteva R, Stjepanovic M, Koynov K, Konsoulova A, Iorga GP, et al. “Impact of patient and tumor characteristics on various aspects of the non-small cell lung cancer patient journey in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia: a multicenter, non-interventional study.” Cancer Treatment and Research Communications, 2025.

Arabadjiev J, Konsoulova A, Krasteva R, Dimitrova MV, Dimitrova M. “Incidence, patient characteristics and treatment patterns of early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in Bulgaria: a retrospective analysis based on real-world data.” Pharmacia 72:1–6, 2025.

Konsoulova AA, Arabadjiev JI, Nikolov KZ, Koleva MD, Shopov NA, et al. “Erratum to ‘ESGO 2025 Congress’.” International Journal of Gynecological Cancer 35(6):101811, 2025.

Borstnar S, Bozovic-Spasojevic I, Cvetanovic A, Plavetic ND, Konsoulova A, et al. “Advancing HER2-low breast cancer management: enhancing diagnosis and treatment strategies.” Radiology and Oncology 58(2):258, 2024.

Hochmair MJ, Unk M, Spasic J, Cerić T, Konsoulova A, Dediu M, Bogos K, et al. “Unmet needs in EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations in Central and Eastern Europe: reimbursement, diagnostic procedures, and treatment availability.” BMC Proceedings 18(Suppl 3):2, 2024.

Petrov I, Ivanov H, Kalev DN, Zamboglou C, Pathak A, Konsoulova A, et al. “363TiP Pseudo-anonymized non-interventional retrospective clinical validation of AI-ambient patient-clinical intelligence (APCI) using the GRADE methodology.” ESMO Real World Data and Digital Oncology 10, 2025.

Dancheva Z, Konsoulova A, Dyankova M, Stoeva T, Chausheva S, et al. “Diagnostic and clinical value of [18F] FDG PET/CT in the follow-up regimen in IIA–IIID stage cutaneous malignant melanoma after first regional recurrence.” Nuclear Medicine Review 26:20–28, 2023.

Linardou H, Adjei AA, Bajpai J, Banerjee S, Berghoff AS, Mathias CC, Konsoulova A, et al. “Challenges in oncology career: are we closing the gender gap? Results of the new ESMO Women for Oncology Committee survey.” ESMO Open 8(2):100781, 2023.

Bozovic Spasojevic I, Ferrari A, De Munter J, Gamble A, Konsoulova A, et al. “Have we made progress in taking care of adolescents and young adults with cancer? Results of a European multi-professional survey.” Tumori Journal 109(6):546–554, 2023.

Nanev V, Naneva S, Yordanov A, Strashilov S, Konsoulova A, et al. “Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the breast synchronous with a high-grade invasive ductal carcinoma and ductal carcinoma in situ in a different quadrant of the same breast.” Medicina 58(9):1146, 2022.

Yordanov A, Karamanliev M, Karcheva M, Konsoulova A, et al. “Single-center study of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of uterine cervix over a 10-year period.” Medicina 55(12):780, 2019.

Gouveia HS, Konsulova A, Cardoso F. “New strategies for the precision treatment of HER2-driven tumours.” Expert Review of Precision Medicine and Drug Development 4(4):239–249, 2019.

Conev N, Donev I, Konsoulova-Kirova A, Chervenkov T, Kashlov J. “Serum expression levels of miR-17, miR-21, and miR-92 as potential biomarkers for recurrence after adjuvant chemotherapy in colon cancer patients.” BioSci Trends 9(6):393–401, 2015.

All information is sourced from publicly available materials.