Multidisciplinary Clinics Improve Prostate Cancer Care Everyday Health MenuNewslettersSearch Prostate Cancer News Multidisciplinary Prostate Cancer Clinics Improve CareThe clinics allow men to get several opinions on the best way to proceed with treatment for their cancer. By Shari RoanNovember 21, 2019Everyday Health ArchiveFact-CheckedMultidisciplinary clinics provide prostate cancer patients with the coordinated care of several different types of medical professionals. iStockMen with prostate cancer who receive care at multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinics, which bring together under one roof several types of medical professionals, including surgeons, oncologists, urologists, and radiologists, are more likely to have discussions about their treatment options and receive treatments that adhere to the standards of care, say the authors of a study published November 19 in the journal Cancer. The new study is the largest and longest look at outcomes in a multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic. It comes at a time when adherence to evidence-based cancer treatment guidelines is strongly encouraged, as discussed in an article published August 2015 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Moreover, there is mounting evidence, such as the results of a study published November 2015 in Cancer, that where a cancer patient receives care can make a significant difference, especially for patients with the most complex and challenging cases. More than 170,000 U.S. men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, according to the American Cancer Society. The disease is the most common cancer in men except for skin cancer. There are a variety of treatment options available, ranging from surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and, in some cases, active surveillance, in which a relatively slow-growing cancer may be watched rather than treated. Treatment decisions are often highly personalized and depend on such factors as the patient’s type and stage of disease, age, other health problems, and quality-of-life considerations, such as the risks of urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction that are linked to some prostate cancer treatments. But some men never learn all the options available to them. That’s less likely to happen in a multidisciplinary clinic, says the lead author of the study, Chad Tang, MD, an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “In a multidisciplinary clinic, patients can get a balanced view of the treatment options within a very short time frame,” Dr. Tang says. “You don’t have to get multiple appointments with multiple practitioners. It’s easier for the patient logistically and from a financial standpoint.” RELATED: Nonmetastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Two New Treatment Options Have Changed the Way It s Managed Multidisciplinary Clinic Translated to More Personalized Care To conduct the study, researchers compared data from the multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic at MD Anderson (4,451 patients) to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) national cancer database (more than 392,000 patients) during the years 2004–2016. Patients in the SEER database were not necessarily treated in a multidisciplinary clinic. Tang’s study found multidisciplinary clinic prostate cancer patients who had low-risk disease were more likely to choose active surveillance compared with the national comparison group. In 2015, active surveillance was chosen by 74 percent of men with low-risk disease in the multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic compared with 54 percent in the comparison group. The finding is significant because for this type of patient “you don’t have a best treatment option. You have two really good treatment options,” Tang said. “They have similar ability to control the cancer but they have very different quality-of-life metrics.” For example, some people don’t care about the risk of sexual dysfunction and may opt for surgery. “Either way, it’s a quality-of-life choice. You need to have lifestyle questions addressed. “We’re not pushing active surveillance. We are highlighting best-practices care to patients,” Tang continued. “It’s the patient’s choice. If he is a perfect candidate for active surveillance but really wants his cancer treated, that’s his option.” The study also found that African American men older than 70 in the multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic were more likely to choose active surveillance than older white men, and were more likely to receive treatments that resulted in a cure. The opposite trends were found in the comparison group. “In our clinic, we expect African American men to choose treatment similar to a white patient,” Tang said. “But in national analyses, it looks like African American men want more treatment.” RELATED: What Is the Prostate? A Guide to Its Form and Function and Some Common Problems Multidisciplinary Clinics A Growing Trend The National Cancer Institute has promoted the use of multidisciplinary clinics for more than a decade. They are common in other types of cancers, such as breast cancer. Tang said he expects the number of such clinics will increase. “I think with almost any cancer, with very few exceptions, the multidisciplinary clinic would always be helpful to get information quickly, preventing delays and getting the whole team together.” NEWSLETTERS Sign up for our Men' s Health Newsletter SubscribeBy subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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