[Responsibilities and importance of tumor centers for interdisciplinary tumor therapy]

Early diagnosis, therapy and follow-up of tumor patients rest on the three pillars of medical care: tumor centers, hospitals and physicians. The tumor centers are the pace makers and coordinators in the following functions: definition of primary treatment and additional therapies and their standard of quality; implementation of primary multimodal therapies and treatment of rare tumors; development of improved treatment methods for tumor metastases and local recurrence, including surgical treatment; improvement of diagnostic and therapeutic (surgical) potential through interdisciplinary research, especially in the fields of tumor biology and tumor immunology; and establishment of a standardized follow-up and new care and treatment strategies for the improvement of the patients' quality of life.