Multimodal Therapy / Treatment

In oncology, multimodal therapy or combined modality treatment refers to a combination of two or more methods of treatment. It most often refers to any combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. If one form of treatment is considered the primary therapy and the other method is administered to assist in treating the cancer, the medical community refers to the secondary treatment as adjuvant therapy (1).

Certain cancers, such as breast cancer, are proven to be responsive to multimodal treatments, and in some cases combining therapies can increase patient survival rates. Other types of cancer, such as lung and esophageal cancer, are said to not respond to multimodal therapy, though because more research is needed, the data is not necessarily conclusive (1, 2). One major negative aspect of multimodal therapy is the increased stress and toxicity placed on the patient, and for this reason doctors and patients must weigh the options carefully (1).

In the case of mesothelioma patients, a multimodal approach is common because the disease responds with only limited success to unimodal forms of treatment. In the case of malignant pleural mesothelioma, for example, a multimodal treatment may involve a pleurectomy (the surgical removal of the lining of the lung), followed by localized dose of chemotherapy, and radiation treatment afterwards (3).

'Multimodal Therapy / Treatment' Sources:
  1. Lawrence, Jr., W., M.D. (1985). CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 35;57-60. Available: "Does 'Multimodal' Therapy For Cancer Really Work?" (Accessed August 21, 2007).
  2. An American Cancer Society news article. Available: "Combining Treatments: New Standard of Care for Advanced Cervical Cancer." (Accessed August 21, 2007).
  3. Mesothelioma-Facts.com. Available: "Multimodal treatment of mesothelioma." (Accessed August 21, 2007).




 

 

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