Giampiero Ausili Cefaro Domenico Genovesi
Carlos A. Perez
2013 Optimal decision-making in the diagnosis, treatment and support of cancer patients is increasingly dependent upon multidisciplinary and multidimensional knowledge. As the pathway of care becomes more complex, the potential for miscommunication, poor coordination between providers, and fragmentation of services and knowledge increases. This constitutes a challenge for all medical and health care professionals involved in the management of a specific tumour disease, whose approach to cancer care is guided by their willingness to agree on evidence-based clinical decisions and to co-ordinate the delivery of care at all stages of the process. Radiation oncology is a flexible, well-understood, organ-sparing and cost-effective component of cancer therapy that has travelled far over the last century. This progress is illustrated by the numerous innovative developments in treatment equipment and the new delivery technologies and associated imaging modalities that collectively have enabled patient access to highly optimised precision radiation therapy; furthermore, there have been remarkable advances in our understanding of the biological basis of radiation effects and, most recently, the emerging use of novel molecularly targeted therapeutics that hold the promise of delivering further substantial improvements in tumour control and patient cure.