ABSTRACT
Management of a patient with cancer requires an holistic approach, including the characterization of the tumour, its eradication or control, and attention to the full range of personal, family, psychological and general medical issues. Study of patients with cancer shows us that there is a whole range of medical problems which are more or less peculiar to these diseases. Particular patterns of the development of the disease and of disruption of normal functions caused by malignant infiltration and the paraneoplastic phenomena are sufficiently complex to be a specialist subject in their own right. The oncologist is in a crucial position to develop expertise in the recognition and management of these syndromes with a central role in the multidisciplinary team.
