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Multidisciplinary care in patients with prostate cancer: room for improvement


Strebel, Räto T; Sulser, Tullio; Schmid, Hans-Peter; Gillessen, Silke; Fehr, Martin; Huber, Urs; Pless, Miklos; Morant, Rudolf; Winterhalder, Ralph; Cathomas, Richard (2013). Multidisciplinary care in patients with prostate cancer: room for improvement. Supportive Care in Cancer, 21(8):2327-2333.

Abstract

PURPOSE: New multimodality treatment approaches for prostate cancer require multidisciplinary management of patients. We aimed to assess the current practices of multidisciplinarity and their possible implications in treatment management in Switzerland. METHODS: In a survey, urologists and medical oncologists in Switzerland were asked to include at least 25 or 15 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of prostate cancer, respectively. Information about treatment patterns and multidisciplinary parameters of these patients was collected retrospectively. RESULTS: Thirty-seven urologists and 20 oncologists from the French- and German-speaking parts of Switzerland representing 7 out of 11 non-university tertiary centres and 20/10 % of all office-based urologists/oncologists in Switzerland collected data on 1,184 patients. Sixty-five percent of the office-based (16/24 urologists; 6/10 oncologists) and 95 % of the hospital-based (10/11 urologists; 8/8 oncologists) physicians participate in multidisciplinary tumour boards (MTBs). However, only 1.5 % of patients with a new diagnosis of prostate cancer (13 of 883) are discussed at a MTB. Overall, second opinions at diagnosis are requested in 23 % of patients, mainly from radiation oncologists (8.4 %) or fellow urologists (7.4 %). Second opinions are more often requested by urologists who participate at MTBs and in case of advanced stage. CONCLUSIONS: Participation at MTBs is high among Swiss urologists and oncologists in private practice and at non-university tertiary centers. In spite of that only a small minority of patients with prostate cancer are presented at MTBs.

Abstract

PURPOSE: New multimodality treatment approaches for prostate cancer require multidisciplinary management of patients. We aimed to assess the current practices of multidisciplinarity and their possible implications in treatment management in Switzerland. METHODS: In a survey, urologists and medical oncologists in Switzerland were asked to include at least 25 or 15 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of prostate cancer, respectively. Information about treatment patterns and multidisciplinary parameters of these patients was collected retrospectively. RESULTS: Thirty-seven urologists and 20 oncologists from the French- and German-speaking parts of Switzerland representing 7 out of 11 non-university tertiary centres and 20/10 % of all office-based urologists/oncologists in Switzerland collected data on 1,184 patients. Sixty-five percent of the office-based (16/24 urologists; 6/10 oncologists) and 95 % of the hospital-based (10/11 urologists; 8/8 oncologists) physicians participate in multidisciplinary tumour boards (MTBs). However, only 1.5 % of patients with a new diagnosis of prostate cancer (13 of 883) are discussed at a MTB. Overall, second opinions at diagnosis are requested in 23 % of patients, mainly from radiation oncologists (8.4 %) or fellow urologists (7.4 %). Second opinions are more often requested by urologists who participate at MTBs and in case of advanced stage. CONCLUSIONS: Participation at MTBs is high among Swiss urologists and oncologists in private practice and at non-university tertiary centers. In spite of that only a small minority of patients with prostate cancer are presented at MTBs.

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Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:04 Faculty of Medicine > University Hospital Zurich > Urological Clinic
Dewey Decimal Classification:610 Medicine & health
Scopus Subject Areas:Health Sciences > Oncology
Date:2013
Deposited On:13 May 2013 12:10
Last Modified:24 Jan 2022 00:55
Publisher:Springer
ISSN:0941-4355
OA Status:Closed
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-013-1791-x
PubMed ID:23529667