Visceral Oncology Center

General

• Guideline-compliant diagnostics, therapy and aftercare
• Individual treatment plan adapted to the needs of the patient
• Implementation of the latest research and treatment methods
• Review of treatment options within clinical studies

Diagnostics

• Sonographic and endoscopic examinations
• Highly specialized nuclear medical examination procedures
• Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Positron emission tomography (PET-CT)

Therapy

• Highly specialized surgeons with many years of experience
• Ultra-high-tech surgical equipment
• Oncological surgery including minimally invasive techniques
• DaVinci system
• Surgical intensive care unit with experienced team of physicians and nurses
• Highly specialized medical specialists with many years of experience in oncology
• All aspects of individual drug treatment, primary and postoperative
• Professionally trained nursing team with additional training in oncology

Counseling, support and therapy-accompanying services

• Psychosocial/oncological care: Support in coping with the disease through discussions and assistance as patients adjust to altered circumstances
• Nutritional counseling
• Tertiary prevention offers via the Prevention Center of the National Center for Tumor Diseases
• Second opinions

The Visceral Oncology Center consists of a group of experts from a wide range of disciplines, whose goal is to provide optimal care for patients with tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, esophagus, liver or pancreas through standardized diagnostics, therapy, and follow-up care. Successful treatment of these tumors must be interdisciplinary and individually adjusted to the patient. Accordingly, all patients presenting at the Visceral Oncology Center are discussed in the interdisciplinary tumor board, which meets three times a week, together with representatives from surgery, pathology, radiology, gastroenterology, internal oncology and radiation therapy. Other specialist disciplines, e.g. nuclear medicine or orthopedics, are invited as needed. The tumor board produces a patient-specific therapy concept that takes into account national and international standards as well as current studies. This therapy concept is binding for all participants.

Below you will find an overview of the treatment and cooperation partners of the Visceral Oncology Center:

The interdisciplinary treatment team includes other cooperation partners from the medical field as well as from support services such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, social services, psycho-oncology and counselling, with whose help we sre able to offer you and your relatives the best possible support during the entire treatment process.
 

You can find the organization chart of the Visceral Oncology Center here.

The Gastrointestinal Tumor Board of the Visceral Oncology Center meets three times a week. Independent (specialist) physicians and medical colleagues from other hospitals in the region can also present their patients in our interdisciplinary tumor boards and receive a therapy recommendation when all necessary examination results are available.

Gastrointestinal tumor board times

An overview of all tumor boards of the National Center for Tumor Diseases as well as the information for registration can be found here.

The Visceral Oncology Center has been meeting the quality criteria set by the German Cancer Society (DKG) since 2014, and is a DKG-recommended visceral oncology center. In addition, the Visceral Oncology Center has a certified quality management system that meets DIN EN ISO 9001. The following tumor entities are certified within the Visceral Oncology Center:

• Colorectal cancer
• Pancreatic cancer
• Stomach cancer
• Liver cancer
• Esophageal cancer

Benefits of a certified center:

Center as network

The main feature of a certified center is that it is a quality-assured network that covers the entire treatment chain for a patient and meets high quality standards. This ensures that patients receive the best possible care according to the latest scientific criteria, from diagnosis through treatment (inpatient and outpatient) to aftercare. Cooperation within the network is visible, for example, in the interdisciplinary tumor board, in which patient cases are presented and discussed with all treatment partners.

Guidelines

Implementation of the S3 guidelines in the requirements catalogs of the certified centers is a central component of the certification system of the German Cancer Society´s certification system. he current evidence-based treatment recommendations from the guidelines are integrated in the requirements catalogs for the centers. Their application is monitored in annual audits.  

Quality management/audits

Every year, qualified experts visit the center in person and check that the quality requirements are being met. The continuous review of the centers and the feedback from the dialog with the auditors enable continuous voluntary quality improvements at the center.

Decision support for patients

As a patient, you have to help make decisions about your treatment options after receiving detailed information from the physicians treating you. Clear and transparent explanation from a certified center can help you in this process. As a patient, you have access to a network of treatment partners and all participants have committed themselves to the quality requirements of the certified center. As a patient, you know that the "certified center" quality seal guarantees a high quality of treatment and that you will have access to specific qualified persons.
 

Specifically, certified centers

• offer early detection, diagnostics, therapy and aftercare under one roof
• cooperate across sectors, disciplines and professional groups
• deliver measurable quality based on key figures and indicators defined by the German Cancer Society
• are subject to an annual review against professional requirements by external independent assessments
• have kex figures and quality indicators based on specifications from the medical guidelines 
• have optimal transitions and workflows between the various professional groups and disciplines
• establish common, clearly defined long-term and short-term goals that are regularly reviewed
• present all work processes and responsibilities transparently and systematically in a management manual
• use the management manual as the binding working basis for all employees that regulates cooperation with the participating facilities
• perform annual internal audits with all cooperation partners for the continuous development of the center

• Flyer Visceral Oncology Center (German)

Current events of the NCT/UCC Dresden can be found here.