BMJ 1996;312:1155-1156 (4 May)

Letters

A multidisciplinary approach is needed

EDITOR,--Charles R Gillis and David J Hole provide support for the management of patients with breast cancer by surgeons with a specialist interest in breast disease.1 The number of centres advertising as having specialist breast surgeons has proliferated, but it is not clear whether all these units fulfil the definition of a specialist unit as defined by Gillis and Hole and by the British Breast Group.2 As pointed out in the BMJ paper and confirmed by the Yorkshire group, "the benefit associated with care provided by specialists may be due not only to the surgery but to the use of additional therapies."3

It is now accepted that optimal treatment for patients with breast cancer requires a multidisciplinary approach, and it is our contention that before any decision is taken on treatment, the patient should be seen by or discussed with the whole interdisciplinary team--surgeon, radiologist, pathologist, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, . . . [Full text of this article]


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Specialist surgeons and survival in breast cancer
R A Haward and D Forman
BMJ 1996 313: 494. [Extract] [Full Text]

Survival outcome of care by specialist surgeons in breast cancer: a study of 3786 patients in the west of Scotland
Charles R Gillis and David J Hole
BMJ 1996 312: 145-148. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Access jobs at BMJ Careers
Whats new online at Student BMJ