The Future of Cancer Care: Interventional Oncology 360

Quality cancer care today requires the expertise of multiple medical specialists working together in a collaborative fashion. While traditional treatment options of medical oncology, surgery, and radiation oncology are mainstream, the specialty of interventional oncology is one of the fastest growing and most exciting areas of innovation in cancer care and has evolved as a minimally invasive clinical specialty caring for cancer patients with little or no choices, giving them an extended lease on life while helping maintain their quality of life. It has evolved rapidly in the last 2 decades, presenting treatment options to cancer patients in a minimally invasive fashion that were not imaginable in the not so distant past. Interventional oncologists who perform these procedures have taken a more active and involved clinical role in this multidisciplinary paradigm by being part of the planning and decision making process, performing the procedures and continuing the care through admissions and follow-up of the treated patients. This clinical model is becoming more widely accepted by physicians from other specialties and the institutions where interventional oncologists provide care.

While tomorrow might usher in a totally different training model for interventional oncology, today these procedures are performed by interventional radiologists who need to fully understand and embrace the new of responsibilities that interventional oncology presents if they want to be considered as a legitimate player in oncology. Understanding the complex arena of oncology means keeping up with what’s new, relevant, and cutting edge in cancer.

Given the time constraints of medical professionals today, keeping up with the literature and progress in one’s own specialty is hard enough, and knowing what other specialists are doing does require an extraordinary effort.

Interventional Oncology 360 is a new platform that hopes to fill this critical need and serve as a single point of reference for a comprehensive look at cancer care. It will bring together contributions from multiple medical specialists involved in oncology, offering a single source of information that will be keep you informed about the innovations and trends to help you make informed decisions that will translate into better patient care and outcomes.

I would like to welcome all of you to Interventional Oncology 360, and I hope that you will enjoy this site and its contents. I look forward to hearing your feedback.