Member:

• Radiologist, pathologist, 
• Specialist physician, specialist surgeon, 
• Radiation oncologist, medical oncologist,
• Nurse specialist, auditor and scheduler. 
• Additional staff may be relevant to different MDTs, e.g. 
  • dermatologists in skin cancer MDTs, 
  • dieticians in upper gastrointestinal cancer MDTs, 
  • stoma nurses in colorectal cancer MDTs, 
  • palliative care doctors in pancreatic cancer or cancer of unknown primary (CUP)

Specific roles of the cancer multidisciplinary team (MDT) (Box: 7.8)

•  Agreeing on cancer type and final stage.
• Deciding on the appropriate primary treatment modality (most commonly surgery but the use of neoadjuvant systemic anti-cancer therapy and/or radiotherapy before surgery is increasing)
• Arranging review by the appropriate team to coordinate management.
• Planning surveillance strategies.
• Diagnosing cancer recurrence or metastases.
• Ensuring the appropriate transition from treatment with curative intent to that of palliation.
• Promoting recruitment into clinical trials.
• Agreeing on operational policies to deliver high-quality care to patients.
• Planning and reviewing audit data to ensure delivery of quality care to patients.
• Identifying late effects of cancer treatments.

Multidisciplinary team (MDT) roles