Commission on Cancer
View all recommendations from this societyReleased September 4, 2013
Don’t initiate cancer treatment without defining the extent of the cancer (through clinical staging) and discussing with the patient the intent of treatment.
- Treatment intent may be diagnostic, curative, maintenance, or palliative.
- Many patients, especially those with advanced or metastatic cancer, do not have a full understanding of the intent of cancer treatment – they identify that treatment may be curative when in fact it is given only with palliative intent. They often do not understand the costs, risks and potential side effects of the treatment.
- Palliative therapy may provide relief of symptoms or short term prolongation of survival, but often can cause substantial toxic effects and can interfere with the patient’s quality of life.
- This directive should be applied to all phases of cancer treatment from initial therapy to treatment for recurrent and metastatic cancer.
- Clinical staging should be performed and documented using information from history and physical examination, relevant biopsy, and appropriate imaging based on the type and stage (extent) of the cancer.
These items are provided solely for informational purposes and are not intended as a substitute for consultation with a medical professional. Patients with any specific questions about the items on this list or their individual situation should consult their physician.
How The List Was Created
The American College of Surgeons concluded in its review of this opportunity that it was optimal to submit a separate list of interventions related to cancer from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. The Commission on Cancer appointed a multidisciplinary task force that met in person in September, 2012 and subsequently by conference call and electronic communications.
Recommendations for candidate interventions were solicited from panel members and other leaders from the Commission on Cancer. These panel members were provided a written charge to identify measures that would support the Commission’s standards for accreditation in use in more than 1,500 cancer programs across the U.S. In addition, panel members were provided with a full description of the Choosing Wisely®campaign and the interventions previously recommended by other organizations both for cancer and all other disorders.
Following initial submission of the candidate interventions, the panel discussed each intervention specifically evaluating the significance of the intervention, the potential scope of variation in care affected by the intervention, and the potential numbers of persons affected by this. The group also discussed the impact on short-term and long-term cost to be gained by implementation of each intervention. The panel voted on each intervention to select the final list of recommended interventions. The panel members then reviewed and refined the wording of each intervention and completed the bulleted supporting documentation and literature citations. The final list of interventions was then approved by the panel and submitted to the leadership of the American College of Surgeons for final approval. The Commission on Cancer’s disclosure and conflict of interest policy can be found at www.facs.org.
Commission on Cancer Panel Members
- Stephen Edge, MD, FACS, Chair, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
- David Bentrem, MD, FACS, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL
- Daniel Kollmorgen, MD, FACS, University of Iowa, Des Moines, IA
- Daniel McKellar, MD, FACS, Wayne Healthcare, Greenville, OH
- Christopher Pezzi, MD, FACS, Abington Memorial Hospital, Abington, PA
- Lee Wilke, MD, FACS, University of Wisconsin Health System, Madison, WI
- David Winchester, MD, FACS, Medical Director, Cancer Programs, American College of Surgeons
Sources
Weeks JC, Satalano PJ, Cronin A, Finkelman MD, Mack JW, Keating NL, Schrag D. Patients’ expectations about effects of chemotherapy for advanced cancer. N Engl J Med. 2012 Oct 25;367(17):1616-25.
