Cancer at the crossroads

A number of elements are transforming cancer care in hospitals. First is ongoing, rapid technological advance: Experts contend that biotechnology therapies will shift the site of cancer treatment from external, systemic treatments like radiation and chemotherapy, to targeted, tumor-specific drugs that boost the immune system. That change alone holds many implications for oncology management. In addition, an aging population, longer cancer survival rates, reimbursement concerns, and the increasing involvement of patients and their families in treatment decision making, will all have an impact on the way cancer care is designed and delivered. The time to plan, say experts, is now. Meanwhile, innovative treatment plans, patient care approaches, and collaborative efforts among institutions are moving hospital oncology into the 1990s in a dramatic way.