Kumar is an assistant professor of radiation oncology and molecular radiation sciences at The John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Rachit Kumar

Patients with gastrointestinal cancer may benefit from multidisciplinary care and open communication with their care team, as per an expert.

Raising Awareness on Multidisciplinary Approaches in GI Cancers

Gastrointestinal cancer (GI) diagnoses mark the beginning of a complex journey that relies on collaboration among specialists and clear communication to guide treatment decisions. Patients should seek care coordinated through a multidisciplinary team, according to Dr. Rachit Kumar during an interview with CURE.

Regular tumor board discussions bring experts together to review cases and recommend personalized treatment plans, which has been shown to improve outcomes.

By encouraging communication about the technology used in treatment planning and delivery, patients can form stronger connections with their radiation oncologist and specialists. Understanding how these tools work not only helps patients feel more confident but also supports informed decision making.

I think that the important things to look at when you have a new diagnosis of GI cancer are, what is your team doing to help address your cancer? So, I think that making sure that you're part of a multidisciplinary team, making sure there's a tumor board discussion, because again, getting more thoughts in a room has been shown to have better outcomes. Making sure that the team that you're working with has experience with the cancer type that you have. And I think that just making sure –– it's hard to assess the technology, I don't think it's fair for a patient to come in and be expected to know, OK, I have this cancer, what kind of technology should my radiation oncologist be using?

I think instead, it's a very fair question to ask your team, “Can you talk to me about the technology that you use in a way that I can understand it, and how it can be used to help also improve my quality of life?” I think doing that will not just give the patient some comfort that they're able to connect with their radiation oncologist, but a better understanding of how that technology is going to help them both treat their cancer but also keep them functional.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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Advancements in radiation therapy, including proton therapy and stereotactic radiation, reduce side effects and improve quality of life for GI cancer.

Radiation Therapy Advances Improve Quality of Life for GI Cancer

Radiation therapy can be an intimidating concept for patients facing a new cancer diagnosis, particularly for those with gastrointestinal cancers. According to Dr. Rachit Kumar, many patients arrive at the clinic expecting to face severe radiation burns, debilitating side effects and long-term toxicity — concerns rooted in older approaches to treatment.

In an interview with CURE, Kumar discussed the evolution of radiation therapy and how advancements in technology have allowed for more precise targeting of tumors.

Kumar explained that radiation therapy has moved far beyond simply pointing a beam at the cancer and accepting collateral damage. Now, tools such as intensity modulated radiation, stereotactic radiation and proton therapy allow physicians to shape and guide radiation in a way that avoids normal tissues and improves patients’ quality of life. These innovations have made it possible to measure exactly how much radiation healthy tissues receive, offering patients more assurance and fewer side effects.

Although there is no “free lunch” when it comes to radiation treatment, Kumar emphasized that the experience today is vastly different from what many patients expect, helping to ease fears and improve outcomes.

That's a really key thing that we hear a lot from patients. Radiation is a scary word, and I think that when you're dealing with a new diagnosis of cancer, which is already something scary, to come into our office and to think about the past and patients getting severe radiation burns, severe radiation toxicity, debilitating side effects, that's what a lot of people come in and, frankly, expect. What is very helpful for us is to be able to tell patients that although there is no “free lunch” with this process, there is no walk in the park that goes through, we know that our technology has gone from basically pointing a beam of radiation on a patient and accepting that there's going to be collateral damage throughout that area.

Now we can say much more comfortably that what we're seeing is the ability to shape radiation, to avoid normal tissues, to actually measure in detail how much [radiation] normal tissues are receiving, and to use the most advanced technology to push radiation away from those normal tissues and really concentrate on the target tissue is leading to a lot better quality of life. So, technologies such as intensity modulated radiation, stereotactic radiation, proton therapy, all of these are different things that we can say with very high confidence have drastically improved the quality of life of patients going through gastrointestinal cancer radiation.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to 

Advancements in radiation therapy, including proton therapy and stereotactic radiation, reduce side effects and improve quality of life for GI cancer.


Dr. Rachit Kumar

Raising Awareness on Multidisciplinary Approaches in GI Cancers

Radiation Therapy Advances Improve Quality of Life for GI Cancer

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