How to Design and Foster Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Cancer Conferences

Marcio M Gomes; Carole Dennie; Scott A Laurie; Farid M Shamji

doi:10.1016/j.thorsurg.2021.04.007

How to Design and Foster Thoracic Oncology Multidisciplinary Cancer Conferences

Thorac Surg Clin. 2021 Aug;31(3):229-235. doi: 10.1016/j.thorsurg.2021.04.007.

Authors

Marcio M Gomes¹, Carole Dennie², Scott A Laurie³, Farid M Shamji⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L6, Canada. Electronic address: mgomes@toh.ca.
² Department of Medical Imaging, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L6, Canada.
³ Division of Medical Oncology, The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L6, Canada.
⁴ University of Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital, 501 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8L6, Canada.

PMID: 34304831
DOI: 10.1016/j.thorsurg.2021.04.007

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors review and discuss the literature on multidisciplinary cancer conferences (MCCs, aka tumor boards), clarifying the terminology, showing the evolution of the field, and providing an evidence-based perspective on positive outcomes, best practices, factors influencing the quality of MCCs, evaluation tools to assess the quality of MCCs, and quality improvement interventions for MCCs. The authors then discuss some perspectives from their MCC and initiatives that they undertook to improve the work of their team and the care that they provide to patients in the area of thoracic oncology.

Keywords: Best practice; Evaluation; Interprofessional education; Multidisciplinary cancer conference; Multidisciplinary team; Quality improvement; Tumor board.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Neoplasms*
Patient Care Team
Quality Improvement