Multidisciplinary meetings specific to hepatocellular carcinoma: How to proceed?

Publication date: Available online 27 October 2018Source: Journal of Visceral SurgeryAuthor(s): M. Miguet, J.P. Adam, J.F. Blanc, B. Lapuyade, P. Bernard, E. Buscail, M. Neau-Cransac, V. Vendrely, C. Laurent, L. ChicheSummaryThe French “cancer plan” has created a framework for good practice in the course of care for cancer patients. Decisions must be made in a multidisciplinary team meeting (MDM) and an individualized care plan (ICP) is to be established for each patient. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer with complex treatments that warrant a dedicated meeting. Cancer coordination centers (3C) ensure the organization and the functioning of MDMs. Multidisciplinary, standardized and systematic assessment of HCC patients allows for personalized management and orients them toward treatment that is either curative (transplantation, surgical resection, ablathermy) or palliative (chemoembolization, radiotherapy, systemic treatment, supportive care). MDMs bring together all the professionals treating the disease, and who are tasked with producing an enforceable document effective that justifies decisions and is often an essential step toward  inclusion of patients in a clinical trial. It must be carried out according to a systematic schema in an approach applied from initial diagnosis to treatment outset and throughout the treatment. Numerous advances in HCC treatments have rendered their management complex, with the possibility of liver transplantation...
Source: Journal of Visceral Surgery - Category: Surgery Source Type: research