Survival profile of patients presented at technology-enhanced multidisciplinary cancer conferences

Background: Emerging research suggests that multidisciplinary cancer conferences (MCCs) positively impact survival in cancer patients. This study aimed to assess the survival outcomes in technology-enhanced thoracic, gynecology and breast tumor boards. Methods: We conducted a prospective study, pre vs post implementation of a tumor board technology platform, September 2020 to February 2022 in a comprehensive cancer center. Using data sourced from the cancer registry, we compared the survival rates of patients presented at the thoracic, gynecology, and breast MCCs with matched cases not presented at the MCCs. Comparisons were made using the Mann-Whitney U and Fisher's Exact test. Survival outcomes were summarized using Kaplan-Meier methods. Results: A total of 214, 75, and 52 cancer patients presented at the thoracic, breast and gynecology MCCs, respectively, were matched with corresponding numbers of non-MCC cohorts. Patients in the thoracic MCC cohort had an increased overall survival compared with that of the non-MCC cohort (median time = 47.8 vs 37.2 months, p=0.013) and cancer-specific survival (median time = 77.9 vs 51.5 months, p=0.019). We found no significant survival benefit in the breast and gynecology MCCs or after implementation of the technology platform. Conclusion: MCCs lead to improved survival outcomes in thoracic cancer patients. A larger sample size would be required to fully assess any potential survival impact in breast and gynecologic oncology patients. Our study did not show that the digital tumor board platform had an impact on the survival outcome for patients presented at any of the MCCs.