Multidisciplinary case teams: an approach to the future management of advanced colorectal cancer

The effective management of advanced colorectal cancer has traditionally been viewed in terms of treatment outcome measures such as efficacy (survival, objective response and palliation) and safety. Although these outcomes are of paramount importance and are essential for the evaluation of the effectiveness and tolerability of treatment, they do not take account of the global effect of therapy on patients, society and healthcare systems. Furthermore, they may not reveal important differences between treatments of equivalent anti-tumour efficacy that might influence the overall effectiveness in terms of acceptability of therapy. To achieve this, a broader, patient-centred evaluation of advanced cancer treatment is required that acknowledges the views, experience and perspectives of all involved in the treatment process. To this end, the International Working Group in Colorectal Cancer, a multidisciplinary group that encompasses expertise from a range of relevant fields and disciplines, has advocated a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer that is likely to deliver the best possible overall care.