Keywords:
Musculoskeletal system, Oncology, CT, MR, Biopsy, Cancer, Neoplasia
Authors:
A. Nobre, T. Lloyd, M. Lowe, E. Knox; Brisbane, QLD/AU
DOI:
10.26044/ranzcr2021/R-0329
Purpose
Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare but commonly fatal cancers. The incidence of soft tissue sarcomas within Australia has increased between 1982 and 2009 from 4.7/100,000 to 5.87/100,000 respectively. [1] The number of suspected sarcoma lesions that require referral is likely to be much higher. This number coupled with population growth within Australia has led to an ever-increasing number of STS referrals to tertiary sarcoma centres (TSC) for diagnosis and management. The infrastructure and triage model within TSC have remained fairly constant since inception, hence there is a growing need for more efficient methods to ensure appropriate referral and management of sarcoma patients while not compromising their care or overburdening limited specialist resources. In light of the increasing pressure on the existing system, the diagnostic sarcoma multidisciplinary team (DSMDT) concept utilising subspecialty musculoskeletal radiology and orthopaedic oncology expertise was developed. DSMDT has been successfully implemented within selected specialist centres in the UK. [2, 3] We instituted a similar system to our sarcoma service at a tertiary Australian hospital. This study reports early data comparing various metrics prior to and following the implementation of the DSMDT.