Role of medical oncologists in multidisciplinary team treatment of malignant acute abdomen / 中华胃肠外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Acute abdomen in patients with malignant tumors is called malignant acute abdomen, often seen in the digestive system tumor or abdominal pelvic metastasis of the other primary tumors. Bleeding, perforation, gastrointestinal obstruction, biliary obstruction with infection, acute peritonitis are acute and severe, however, prevention is more important than treatment. For high-risk patients, even if acute abdomen does not occur when the disease is diagnosed, we should make precautions, including actively local treatment of local lymph nodes or primary lesions and careful choice of drugs. Malignant acute abdomen is mainly treated by surgical intervention. However, to seize the opportunity of anti-tumor treatment while actively treating acute abdomen requires multidisciplinary team (MDT), including co-management of diagnostic team, treatment team and support team. Most patients with malignant acute abdomen are in late stage, so the role of medical oncologists can not be ignored in the prevention, intervention and management of malignant acute abdomen. For patients with potentially resectable malignant acute abdomen who are suitable for neoadjuvant therapy and technically unresectable malignant acute abdomen, the opportunity for drug treatment should be sought first. For those presenting with obstruction, bleeding or perforation during radiotherapy or chemotherapy, we should carefully evaluate the response of previous antitumor treatment, the reason of acute abdomen and discuss the option of surgery. Some concomitant medications may also increase the risk of malignant acute abdomen. Here, we discuss the role of medical oncologists in the management of malignant acute abdomen in the MDT setting.