Dr. Campbell on the Importance of Multidisciplinary Care in RCC

Matthew T. Campbell, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the importance of utilizing a multidisciplinary treatment approach in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Multidisciplinary care leads to optimal outcomes for patients with RCC, says Campbell. Although determining what subtype of RCC a patient has can be difficult, the information is used to aid optimal treatment selection, Campbell explains.

As such, working with urologists who can recommend patients with localized disease for appropriate surgeries, such as partial or radical nephrectomies, is important in multidisciplinary care, Campbell says. In the metastatic setting, urologists should determine whether a patient should undergo cytoreductive nephrectomy.

Additionally, working closely with interventional radiologists is a growing need because data have suggested that giving concurrent stereotactic body radiotherapy can provide palliative benefit to patients receiving immunotherapy, says Campbell. Radiologists also address painful sites of metastatic disease and help patients with oligometastatic disease and multifocal kidney masses, concludes Campbell.