Virtual Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards: A Narrative Review Focused on Lung Cancer.
Vittorio GebbiaAurelia GuariniDario PiazzaAlessandro BertaniMassimiliano SpadaFrancesco VerderameConcetta SergiEnrico PotenzaIvan FazioLivio BlasiAlba La SalaGianluca MortillaroElena RozRoberto MarcheseMaurizio ChiarenzaHector Soto-ParraMaria Rosaria ValerioGiuseppe AgnetaCarmela AmatoHelga LipariSergio BaldariFrancesco FerraùAlfio Di GraziaGianfranco MancusoSergio RizzoAlberto FirenzePublished in: Pulmonary therapy (2021)
To date, the virtual multidisciplinary tumor boards (vMTBs) are increasingly used to achieve high-quality treatment recommendations across health-care regions, which expands and develops the local MTB team to a regional or national expert network. This review describes the process of lung cancer-specific MTBs and the transition process from face-to-face tumor boards to virtual ones. The review also focuses on the project organization's description, advantages, and disadvantages. Semi-structured interviews identified five major themes for MTBs: current practice, attitudes, enablers, barriers, and benefits for the MTB. MTB teams exhibited positive responses to modeled data feedback. Virtualization reduces time spent for travel, allowing easier and timely patient discussions. This process requires a secure web platform to assure the respect of patients' privacy and presents the same unanswered problems. The implementation of vMTB also permits the implementation of networks especially in areas with geographical barriers facilitating interaction between large referral cancer centers and tertiary or community hospitals as well as easier access to clinical trial opportunities. Studies aimed to improve preparations, structure, and conduct of MTBs, research methods to monitor their performance, teamwork, and outcomes are also outlined in this article. Analysis of literature shows that MTB participants discuss 5-8 cases per meeting and that the use of a vMTB for lung cancer and in particular stage III NSCLC and complex stage IV cases is widely accepted by most health professionals. Despite still-existing gaps, overall vMTB represents a unique opportunity to optimize patient management in a patient-centered approach.
Keyphrases
- quality improvement
- healthcare
- mycobacterium tuberculosis
- pulmonary tuberculosis
- primary care
- clinical trial
- mental health
- ejection fraction
- systematic review
- case report
- end stage renal disease
- big data
- small cell lung cancer
- palliative care
- health information
- newly diagnosed
- type diabetes
- papillary thyroid
- clinical practice
- squamous cell carcinoma
- study protocol
- chronic kidney disease
- open label
- young adults
- randomized controlled trial
- combination therapy
- single cell
- tyrosine kinase
- insulin resistance
- lymph node metastasis
- phase ii
- health insurance
- squamous cell
- glycemic control