Tumour boards/multidisciplinary head and neck cancer meetings: Are they of value to patients, treating staff or a political additional drain on healthcare resources?

Current Opinion in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery

Volumn 16, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 103-107

  Westin, Thomas ^a   Stalfors, Joacim ^b  

^a ROYAL HALLAMSHIRE HOSPITAL   (United Kingdom)

^b SAHLGRENSKA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL   (Sweden)

Author keywords

Carcinoma; Clinical pathways; Head and neck neoplasms; Healthcare costs; Multidisciplinary teams

Indexed keywords

CANCER DIAGNOSIS; CANCER STAGING; COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS; CYTOLOGY; HEAD AND NECK CANCER; HEALTH CARE; HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATION; HEALTH SERVICE; HISTOPATHOLOGY; HUMAN; MEDICAL DECISION MAKING; MEDICAL EDUCATION; MEDICAL STAFF; POLITICAL SYSTEM; PRACTICE GUIDELINE; PRIORITY JOURNAL; QUALITY OF LIFE; REVIEW;

CRITICAL PATHWAYS; HEAD AND NECK NEOPLASMS; HUMANS; PATIENT CARE TEAM; TREATMENT OUTCOME;

EID: 40449141069     PISSN: 10689508     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/MOO.0b013e3282f6a4c4     Document Type: Review

References (38)

1. Department of Health. A policy framework for commissioning cancer services: a report by the Expert Advisory Group on Cancer to the Chief Medical Officers of England and Wales. London: Department of Health; 1995.
2. Berrino F, Sant M, Verdecchia A, et al. Survival of cancer patients in Europe: the EUROCARE study. IARC Sci Publ 1995; 132:1-463.
3. Department of Health. The NHS cancerplan. London: Department of Health; 2001.
4. Care pathways and quality assurance within cancer care [in Swedish]. The Swedish Medical Council. Stockholm: Fritzes; 1997.
5. Tattersall MHN. Multidisciplinary team meetings: Where is the value? Lancet Oncol 2006; 7:886-888.
6. Fleissig A, Jenkins V, Catt S, Fallowfield L. Multidisciplinary teams in cancer care: are they effective in the UK? Lancet Oncol 2006; 7:935-943. This is a review of the many practical barriers to the successful implementation of MDT working, and concludes that research showing the effectiveness of MDT working is scarce.
7. Massoud R, Askov K, Reinke J, et al. A modern paradigm for improving healthcare quality. Bethesda: Center for Human Services; 2001.
8. Kowalski LP, Carvalho AL. Natural history of untreated head and neck cancer. Eur J Cancer 2000; 36:1032-1037.
9. Stalfors J. Quality studies of a multidisciplinary tumour conference for head and neck oncology [dissertation]. Göteborg: Göteborg University; 2005.
10. Sharp L, Lewin F, Hellborg H, et al. When does my treatment start? The continuum of care for patients with head and neck cancer. Radiother Oncol 2002; 63:293-297.
11. Westra WH, Kronz JD, Eisele DW. The impact of second opinion surgical pathology on the practice of head and neck surgery: a decade experience at a large referral hospital. Head Neck 2002; 24:684-693.
12. Kronz JD, Westra WH, Epstein JI. Mandatory second opinion surgical pathology at a large referral hospital. Cancer 1999; 86:2426-2435.
13. Improving outcomes guidance for head and neck cancer. London: National Institute for Clinical Excellence; 2004.
14. Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of cancer of the head and neck. Los Angeles: American Head and Neck Society; 1995.
15. Healthcare Commission. Information for healthcare providers. Data for head and neck cancer (DAHNO). 31 March 2006. http://www.healthcarecommission. org.uk/serviceproviderinformation/nationalclinicalaudit/furtherinformation.cfm? cit_id=374. [Accessed 18 March 2008].
16. Stalfors J, Lundberg C, Westin T. Quality assessment of a multidisciplinary tumour meeting for patients with head and neck cancer. Acta Oto-Laryngologica 2007; 127:82-87. This paper reviews 12 months' activity and concludes that the validity of decisions made at the MDT is satisfactory, but improvements regarding the quality of workups are possible.
17. Bradley PJ, Morgan DAL, Slevin N. Practice Care Guidance for Clinicians Participating in the Management of Head and Neck Cancer Patients in the UK. Eur J Surg Oncol 2001; 27 (suppl A):S1-S17.
18. Davis AR, Deans DA, Penman I, et al. The multidisciplinary team meeting imrpoves staging accuracy and treatment selection for gastro-esophageal cancer. Dis Esophagus 2006; 19:496-503.
19. Miller MJ, Evans GR. Multidisciplinary care in head and neck cancer. Clin Plast Surg 2001; 28:253-260.
20. Tuttle M, Robbins R, Larsson S, et al. Challenging cases in thyroid cancer: a multidisciplinary approach. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2004; 31:605-612.
21. Bradley PJ, Zutshi B, Nutting CM. An audit of clinical resources available for the care of head and neck cancer patients in England. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 2005; 17:604-609.
22. Viklund P, Wengstrom Y, Lagergren J. Supportive care for patients with oesophageal and other upper gastrointestinal cancers: The role of a specialist nurse in the team. Eur J Oncol Nurs 2006; 10:353-363.
23. Finizia C. Speech- and voice function and quality of life in laryngeal cancer patients with regard to treatment [dissertation]. Göteborg: Göteborg University; 1998.
24. Hammerlid E, Silander E, Hörnestam L, et al. Health-related quality of life three years after diagnosis of head and neck cancer: a longitudinal study. Head Neck Surg 2001; 23:113-125.
25. Berrrino F, Gatta G. Variation in survival of patients with head and neck cancer in europe by the site of origin of the tumours. Eur J Cancer 1998; 34:2154-2161.
26. Stalfors J, Björholt I, Westin T. A cost analysis of participation via personal attendance versus telemedicine at a head and neck oncology multidisciplinary team meeting. J Telemed Telecare 2005; 11:205-210.
27. van Agthoven M, van Ineveld BM, de Boer MF, et al. The costs of head and neck oncology: primary tumours, recurrent tumours and long-term follow-up. Eur J Cancer 2001; 37:2204-2211.
28. Stephens MR, Lewis WG, Brewster AE, et al. Multidisciplinary team management is associated with improved outcomes after surgery for esophageal cancer. Dis Esophagus 2006; 19:417-418.
29. Hillner B, Smith T, Desch C. Hospital and physician volume or specialization and outcomes in cancer treatment: importance in quality of cancer care. J Clin Oncol 2000; 18:2327-2340.
30. Robertson AG, Robertson C, Soutar DS, et al. Treatment of oral cancer: the need for defined protocols and specialist centers: variations in the treatment of oral cancer. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 2001; 13:409-415.
31. Smith TJ, Hillner BE. Ensuring quality cancer care by the use of clinical practice guidelines and critical pathways. J Clin Oncol 2001; 19:2886-2897.
32. Wheelwright R, Birchall MA, Boaden R, et al. Critical path analysis in head and neck cancer: a management technique for surgical oncology. Eur J Oncol Nurs 2002; 6:148-154.
33. Chen AY, Callender D, Mansyur C, et al. The impact of clinical pathways on the practice of head and neck oncologic surgery: the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Experience. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2000; 126:322-326.
34. Leibman BD, Dillioglugil O, Abbas F, et al. Impact of a clinical pathway for radical retropubic prostatectomy. Urology 1998; 52:94-99.
35. van Agthofen M, Heule-Dieleman HA, Knegt PP, et al. Compliance and efficiency before and after implementation of a clinical practice guideline for laryngeal carcinomas. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 2006; 63:729-737. This is a review of National Guidelines for the management of laryngeal cancer in the Netherlands which were issued in 1999, led to a change in hospital costs, balanced against clinical changes observed following guideline implementation. They conclude that costs remained similar but that efficiency of the care process improved.
36. Menzin J, Lines L, Manning L. The economics of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2007; 15:68-73.
37. Davis GE, Schwartz SR, Veenstra DL, et al. Cost comparison of surgery vs organ preservation for laryngeal cancer. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2005; 131:21-26.
38. Sidhom MA, Poulsen MG. Multidisciplinary care in oncology: medicolegal implications of group decisions. Lancer Oncology 2006; 7:951-954. This is essential reading for all members of the UK MDT Cancer Care.