Dr. Cristofanilli Discusses Roles of a Multidisciplinary Team in Breast Cancer

Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, professor of Medicine, Northwestern University, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses a session at the 20th Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium on the roles of a multidisciplinary team.

During this session on subtype-specific treatments, the roles of a pathologist, medical oncologist, surgeon, and radiation therapist were explained by looking at treatment options for patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

Pathologists address the subtype that is seen in each patient case, while the medical oncologist uses that information to select the best type of treatment. During the session, the medical oncologist highlighted different treatments and their roles in breast cancer subtypes.

In surgery, experts address how to manage the axilla in breast, and different approaches for different subtypes are also addressed during this session. Subtypes also affect how much radiation therapy is used for a given patient.

Overall, the different specialty groups work together in contributing to the management of breast cancer. Cristofanilli says this is important for everyone involved in managing patients to understand.