Do Multidisciplinary Tumor Board Discussions Correlate With Increase in 5-Year Survival? A Meta-Analysis Study

Abstract

Introduction Due to the complex nature of cancer cases, it is imperative that the involved healthcare providers coordinate the patients care plan in union to reach the best possible outcome in the smoothest and fastest manner. This is what multidisciplinary tumor board (MTB) meetings strive to achieve. Conducting regular MTB meetings requires significant investment of time and finances. It is thus vital to assess the empirical benefits of such practice. Methods A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the literature regarding the impact of MTB meetings on patient 5-year survival. Relevant studies were identified by searching Ovid MEDLINE and Embase databases from January 1995 to July 2019. Studies were included if they assessed 5-year survival in cases discussed in MTB meetings and used a comparison group and/or a pretest and posttest design. Results Five articles met the study's inclusion criteria. Quality of studies was affected by selection bias and the use of historic cohorts. The results showed significantly improved 5-year survival in the MTB group compared with the non-MTB groups (odds ratio for 5-year death rate of 0.59, CI 0.45–0.78, p < 0.001). Conclusion This meta-analysis showed that cancer MTB meetings have a significant impact on patients' 5-year survival. This could be because of several reasons, such as less time to treatment initiation, better adherence to guidelines, higher numbers of investigational imaging, lesser surgical complications, and recurrence rates. Future prospective studies are needed to further delineate reasons for improvement of outcome to enhance the benefits of this approach.

3rd Annual International Pharmacoeconomic Forum Highlights

“…Oncology is an established specialty on valuing multidisciplinary assessment, integration of care, and leveraging data, including real-world data. [ 7 ] Discussions should continue on the best methods to manage data and other topics, such as the best outcome measures. These are contingent and certainly evolutive—the pressure to use surrogate and novel outcomes will increase as technologies try to differentiate novel perspectives.…”

Development and implementation of a student tumor board as a teaching format for medical students

“…These interdisciplinary discussions with creation of individualized therapy plans are independent quality indicators and essential requirements for successful certification as oncology centers (Brucker et al 2009 ; Griesshammer et al 2023 ; Roessler et al 2022 ). Discussions of oncological patient cases in an interdisciplinary setting encourage evidence-based treatment and often lead to a change in diagnostic procedures or therapeutic management, potentially improving patient outcomes (Munro et al 2015 ; Pillay et al 2016 ; Algwaiz et al 2020 ). Moreover, effective case discussion requires thorough preparation and focused knowledge of the literature, as well as research by the involved physicians.…”

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“…Another recent meta-analysis reports a positive effect of interdisciplinary tumorboards on 5-year survival, meanwhile only five hereby analyzed studies question the generality of the results for all oncologic entities. "The results of one trial were censored because it "increased heterogeneity of results" by failing to demonstrate a survival benefit, although it met inclusion criteria (Wille-Jørgensen et al 2013 ; Algwaiz et al 2020 ). Of note, the main research focus on effects of multidisciplinary tumorboards.…”