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Paediatric tumour boards in Spain: a national survey

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Abstract

Purpose

Multidisciplinary tumour boards (MDTs) are conducted worldwide for the management of patients with cancer, and they deliver a higher standard of care by simultaneously involving different specialists in diagnosis and treatment planning. However, information of paediatric MDTs functioning is scarce. A pilot study was conducted in Spain in the frame of the European Expert Paediatric Oncology Reference Network for Diagnostics and Treatment (ExPO-r-Net).

Methods

A specific questionnaire was designed regarding various features of MDT practice. Data collected included information on the centres and the team, infrastructure for meetings, MDT organization/logistics and clinical decision-making. The survey was distributed to all Paediatric Oncology Units that register patients in the Spanish Registry of Childhood Tumours (RETI-SEHOP).

Results

32 out of 43 contacted centres responded the questionnaire (74 % response rate; 88 % response rate for centres with >25 new patients/year). All units with >25 new patients/year have a dedicated Paediatric MDT compared to 76 % of units with ≤25 new patients/year. MDTs should be improved at institutional level by clear protected time in service planning for all specialists involved, incentives for attendance and attendance registration. Clinical decision-making process and follow-up of recommendation adherence should be assessed and potential legal responsibilities for physicians participating in Tumour Board defined. Network collaboration through virtual MDTs, using available videoconferencing tools, is an opportunity to share expertise among centres.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all paediatric oncologists who respond to the questionnaire. This work was supported the project Expo-r-Net which has received funding from the European Union in the framework of the Health Programme (2008–2013) grant agreement 2013 12 07.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paediatric Oncology Unit, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, Spain

    P. Berlanga, A. Juan Ribelles & A. Cañete

  2. Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe, Valencia, Spain

    P. Berlanga, V. Segura, A. Juan Ribelles, V. Castel & A. Cañete

  3. Paediatric Oncology Unit, Hospital Universitario Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Spain

    P. Sánchez de Toledo

  4. Paediatric Oncology Unit, Hospital Carlos Haya, Málaga, Spain

    T. Acha

Authors
  1. P. Berlanga
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  2. V. Segura
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  3. A. Juan Ribelles
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  4. P. Sánchez de Toledo
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  5. T. Acha
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  6. V. Castel
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  7. A. Cañete
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Berlanga.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Research involving human participants: ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

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Berlanga, P., Segura, V., Juan Ribelles, A. et al. Paediatric tumour boards in Spain: a national survey. Clin Transl Oncol 18, 931–936 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-015-1466-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-015-1466-9

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