Improved Implementation of Tumor Board Decisions: A Retrospective Single Center Observational Study in Germany.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Tumor boards (TUBs) are interdisciplinary meetings designed to determine the most effective cancer therapies and improve patient outcomes. This study aimed to assess which TUB therapy recommendations were easily implemented and to identify factors that hindered their implementation in clinical practice.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, data from ten TUBs held at the University Hospital Bonn between 2014 and 2016 were analyzed. The dataset included 7,152 patients and 13,050 therapy recommendations. The degree of adherence to the recommended therapies was classified into four categories. Additionally, reasons for deviations from the recommendations were categorized based on medical record reviews.

RESULTS: On average, 84.2% of recommendations were implemented: 68.1% were fully and 16.1% partially implemented. Deviations occurred in 8.6% of cases. The most common reasons for partial implementation were therapy changes based on new clinical findings or physician decisions (16.7%) and patient preferences (10.4%). The leading reason for complete deviation from the recommendation was lack of documentation (51.3%).

CONCLUSION: Most TUB recommendations across ten medical disciplines were fully or partially implemented. However, there remains potential for improvement, particularly in ensuring consistent documentation and integrating patient preferences into clinical decision-making.

Copyright © 2025, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.

PMID: 41167680