Ten-year experience of a national multidisciplinary tumour board for cancer and pregnancy in the Netherlands
Most physicians encounter pregnant women with cancer incidentally, leading to a lack of expertise or confidence to inform and treat these patients based on the most recent guidelines and expert opinions. In the Netherlands, a national multidisciplinary tumour board for cancer, infertility and pregna...
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Published in: | European journal of cancer (1990) Vol. 171; pp. 13 - 21 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Journal Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
England
Elsevier Ltd
01-08-2022
Elsevier Science Ltd |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Most physicians encounter pregnant women with cancer incidentally, leading to a lack of expertise or confidence to inform and treat these patients based on the most recent guidelines and expert opinions. In the Netherlands, a national multidisciplinary tumour board for cancer, infertility and pregnancy (CIP-MDT) was founded in December 2012, including 35 specialists from a variety of disciplines. This study evaluates the frequency of consultation of the CIP-MDT, the types of questions asked and the satisfaction of consulting physicians with its existence.
Of all requests to the CIP-MDT between December 2012 and June 2021, tumour type, stage, gestational age at diagnosis and recommendations were collected and analysed. For evaluating the methods of the CIP-MDT, a survey with questions regarding experiences with the CIP-MDT and its impact on treatment decisions was sent out to physicians that consulted the CIP-MDT.
Recommendations (n = 213) concerned preferred and safest options for imaging, treatment options during pregnancy, possible effects on the child and fertility preserving options. Most frequently discussed malignancies were breast cancer (n = 66), cervical cancer (n = 34), haematological malignancies (n = 32) and melanoma (n = 21). The questionnaire was completed by 54% of the physicians (n = 50). Satisfaction with the recommendations of the CIP-MDT was high, and 94% of the physicians informed their patients about consulting the CIP-MDT and felt supported by the received recommendations.
The national Dutch CIP-MDT contributes to a high level of satisfaction among physicians requesting advice. Further research should be executed to confirm that a CIP-MDT improves the outcomes for pregnant women and their children.
•Describes a multidisciplinary tumour board for cancer, infertility and pregnancy (CIP-MDT).•CIP-MDT contributes to high-level satisfaction in physicians requesting expert advice.•This article shows the important steps necessary to establish a CIP-MDT. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0959-8049 1879-0852 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.ejca.2022.04.040 |