Clinical Programs

Thoracic Oncology Program(203) 688-LUNG

About the Program

The Yale Cancer Center Thoracic Oncology Program (TOP) is a multidisciplinary program dedicated to providing cutting-edge evaluation and treatment to patients with thoracic malignancies in an efficient and coordinated manner.

The program coordinates and integrates the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of patients with a thoracic malignancy such as lung cancer, esophageal cancer, thymoma, or chest wall tumors. The program involves a collaboration of specialty physicians, many of whom are listed among the country's best cancer physicians, and are nationally and internationally recognized for their expertise in these types of cancer. Specialties involved include medical oncology, radiation oncology, thoracic surgery, pulmonary medicine, pathology, diagnostic imaging, and nursing.

Any patient cared for by one of the TOP physicians benefits from the collective expertise of the entire program's physicians because of the team approach that is integral to the program. Patients also benefit from a comprehensive program to help with the physical, emotional, and psychological issues that are part of effectively confronting cancer. Finally, because cutting edge care is at times complex, patients also benefit greatly from the involvement of the team's care coordinators, who make management of even the most detailed multidisciplinary treatment plan less complicated.

Physicians meet twice a week as a multidisciplinary group to discuss any significant diagnostic or treatment issue of each patient. The team approach ensures that all aspects are considered and that the treatment approach is optimized.

The coordinated and collaborative approach is also designed to decrease the time to complete the evaluation and develop and institute a thoughtfully crafted treatment plan. In many instances much or all of this is accomplished during the first clinic visit. In addition, the program reduces ambiguity by promoting frequent, real time communication among physicians caring for a patient. The program also places great emphasis on rapid communication with local physicians in order to work in synchrony with them to achieve a successful treatment program for the patient.

The collaborative efforts of the TOP team extend beyond the clinic to achieve a comprehensive programmatic array of treatments that are defining the forefront of care. TOP members meet regularly to review new data generated at Yale and elsewhere in the country in order to continually refine an up-to-date, evidence-based treatment program. New technology is developed and introduced thoughtfully in order to provide a full array of therapeutic options to our patients.

The YCC TOP program offers patients access to nationally recognized expert clinicians, a unique synergy of these specialty physicians through an organized programmatic, collaborative approach, and access to the latest technologies and treatments resulting from scientific insights gained in Yale laboratories and those of other comprehensive cancer centers in the United States.