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Organization of Multidisciplinary Cancer Care for the Surgical Patient: Role of Anesthesiologists

  • Cancer Anesthesia (B Riedel and V Gottumukkala, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Anesthesiology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review is to describe significant recent trends or developments regarding the role of anesthesiologists in a multidisciplinary team approach to cancer care for the surgical patient. We also discuss our own institutional multidisciplinary approach as a comprehensive cancer center with high surgical volume.

Recent Findings

Beyond the multidisciplinary team meeting concept, and local, institution-specific, or national programs, more formalized concepts and models of perioperative care have evolved. These provide a framework for robust involvement of anesthesiologists in cancer care for the surgical patient, with the goal of allowing for optimal individualized cancer outcomes.

Summary

Because of the wide-ranging nature of their perioperative expertise, anesthesiologists play an important role in multidisciplinary team cancer care for surgical patients. This role has been seen in the recent trends toward clinical models, such as the perioperative surgical home and enhanced recovery programs. Areas for future research include multidisciplinary assessment of the impact of such models on perioperative cancer outcomes through integration of data from national outcomes groups.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded in part through the NIH/NCI Cancer Center Support Grant P30 CA008748.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue M-301, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Elizabeth F. Rieth, Gregory W. Fischer & Anoushka M. Afonso

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  1. Elizabeth F. Rieth
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  2. Gregory W. Fischer
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Correspondence to Anoushka M. Afonso.

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Conflict of Interest

Elizabeth F. Rieth, Gregory W. Fischer, and Anoushka M. Afonso declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cancer Anesthesia

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Rieth, E.F., Fischer, G.W. & Afonso, A.M. Organization of Multidisciplinary Cancer Care for the Surgical Patient: Role of Anesthesiologists. Curr Anesthesiol Rep 8, 368–374 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-018-0291-4

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