title: Multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment: a model for breast cancer treatment at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
abstract: Despite that fact that a multidisciplinary approach is important for cancer treatment, this approach is not widely used in Japan. The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) is one of the most well-established cancer institutes in the world, and has implemented a unique multidisciplinary team management approach for the treatment of breast cancer. The efforts of MDACC to eliminate cancer have been ongoing for more than 60 years. Here, we describe the multidisciplinary approach used at MDACC for the treatment for breast cancer. We focus on the background of the institute, in terms of establishing its treatment model and educational system, and compare its multidisciplinary approach with the current approach used in Japan, in the hopes of influencing future directions in cancer therapy in Japan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan. rkim@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Ryungsa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toge
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D016134:Organizational Policy; D010348:Patient Care Team; D013781:Texas