Ten-year experience of a national multidisciplinary tumour board for cancer and pregnancy in the Netherlands

Background: 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. Methodology: Of all reques... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Heimovaara, Joosje H.
Boere, Ingrid A.
de Haan, Jorine
van Calsteren, Kristel
Amant, F.
van Zuylen, Lia
Lok, Christine A.R.
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Reihe/Periodikum: Dutch Advisory Board for Cancer during Pregnancy , Heimovaara , J H , Boere , I A , de Haan , J , van Calsteren , K , Amant , F , van Zuylen , L & Lok , C A R 2022 , ' Ten-year experience of a national multidisciplinary tumour board for cancer and pregnancy in the Netherlands ' , European Journal of Cancer , vol. 171 , pp. 13-21 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2022.04.040
Schlagwörter: Cancer / Multidisciplinary tumour board / Pregnancy
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29191741
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://hdl.handle.net/11370/97049ef7-cbc7-43fe-a2b0-05229db7eee6

Background: 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. Methodology: 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. Results: 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. Discussion: 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.