Role of the multidisciplinary cancer team in reducing cancer morbidity and mortality rate in Indonesia with colorectal cancer as a model

Abstract

In Indonesia, the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has risen from obscurity (outside the top 10) to its present high – number two for males and number three for females (Globocan 2012). These figures are not without reason. Globally, about 25% of patients are at stage IV CRC when they visit their doctors – more than 34% in a report from Indonesia - and it is assumed that 85% of patients with stage IV CRC have unresectable liver disease with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. The concept of an integrated team concept or multidisciplinary care team (MDT) has open the chance for a more aggressive management with better outcome, in which unresectable cases may become resectable and the survival rate of less 5% can be improved to more than 30%. Therefore, the purpose of treatment can be shifted from palliative to curative care. Various studies have demonstrated that MDT can improve survival rate of CRC patients and it is also beneficial for its members. MDT can reduce cancer morbidity and mortality rate in Indonesia.