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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2020; 41(06): 804-808
DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_203_20
Editorial Commentary

Multidisciplinary Joint Clinics: Talent Wins Games, but Teamwork Wins Championships

Rima Sanjay Pathak
Department of Radiation Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
T Shylasree
Department of Gynecological Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
,
Jyoti Bajpai
Department of Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Cancer is among the leading causes of deaths worldwide. The treatments of cancer across most sites involve using surgery, systemic therapy, and radiation therapy. The treatment protocols are complex and require careful planning at the beginning of the therapy and coordination between the treating teams, the patient, and the caregivers to ensure compliance and avoid unnecessary treatment delays. This commentary provides an insight into the role the multidisciplinary joint clinics play in providing personalized cancer care. While such joint clinics are advantageous, they are not devoid of drawbacks and these are also enumerated. In this era, when communication platforms are increasingly digitized, we have highlighted the need for virtual tumor boards. The commentary aims to motivate the development of multidisciplinary joint clinics for ensuring holistic cancer care across the country.

Keywords

Holistic care - joint clinics - multidisciplinary care - personalized medicine - virtual tumor board


Publication History

Received: 27 April 2020

Accepted: 30 June 2020

Article published online:
14 May 2021

© 2020. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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