Robert L. Coleman, MD, on the Multidisciplinary Approach in Ovarian Cancer Treatment

The multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of ovarian cancer is beneficial, according to Robert L. Coleman, MD

In an interview with CancerNetwork, Coleman, chief scientific officer of US Oncology Network, discussed the multidisciplinary approach, and how it differs from other cancer types.

Transcription:

In the United States, and in some parts of Europe, it's not so much an issue because the medical oncologist and surgical oncologist are the same person. But there are definitely parts of the world where surgical oncologist provides the surgical input and the medical oncologist provides the medical input. You always know the, you know, kind of the, the impact and extent of your specific modality. So in places where there is a separation between surgical oncology and medical oncology, I think the multidisciplinary approach is absolutely critical, so that there can be an active dialogue to address the data to make the best decision to help inform the patient. But it can be hard. I mean, I'm dealing with this and patients that are writing to me about interaction, you know about what they should be doing. And I tried to explain this data to them, and it's very hard for them to synthesize. So I do think that the input of the multidisciplinary board is a great place to air out concerns and to basically interrogate the data, so they can make the best patient decision ultimately.