Opinions of Turkish Medical Oncologists about the Participation of Patients and/or Patient Caregivers in Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards

Objective:

Multidicplinary tumor board(MTBs) are an an important component of cancer patient care. The participation of patients or caregivers in MTBs is an contentious issue and is uncommon in Turkey . This study aimed to determine what Turkish medical oncologists think about the participation of patients and caregivers in MTBs.

Method:

The study was conducted during 8th Turkish Congress Of Medical Oncology in Antalya İn November 2021. The medical oncologists that participated completed a 9-item questionnaire. The relationships between the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and their questionnaire responses concerning MTBs were analyzed using Pearson’s chi-square test or the Fisher-Freeman-Halton test.

Results:

75 % of the participants do not approve participation of patient or caregivers in MTBs. 12 % of participants approve the participation of both in the MTBs. 3 % of participants approve only the participation of caregivers whereas only the 6 % of medical oncologist approve only the participation of patients in tumor board. While 69% of the male participants thought that physicians should first talk among themselves and make decisions related to patient care, and then report and discuss their decisions with the patient and/or their caregivers, 55.6% of the female participants thought that physicians should first talk among themselves, but not make any definitive decisions until consulting with the patient and/or their caregivers. This difference between the male and female participants was significant (P = 0.011).

Conclusion:

Among 109 Turkish medical oncologists, most didn’t approve of the participation of patients or caregivers in MTBs. The 2 major reasons for this lack of approval are fear that patients and caregivers will not understand medical terminology, and the emotional stress their participation can cause MTB members.