The Impact of Multidisciplinary Cancer Conferences on Overall Survival: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background Multidisciplinary cancer conferences (MCCs) are comprised of regular meetings between diverse specialists working together to share clinical decision making in cancer care. The aim of this study is to systematically review and meta-analyze the effect of MCC intervention on overall survival of cancer patients. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted on Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials for studies published up to July 2023. Studies reporting on the impact of MCCs on overall survival of patients were included. A standard random effects model with the inverse-variance weighted approach was used to estimate the pooled hazard ratio of mortality (MCC vs non-MCC) across studies and the heterogeneity was assessed by I2. Publication bias was examined using funnel plot and Egger’s test. Results A total of 134,287 cancer patients from 59 studies were included in our analysis, with 48,467 managed by MCCs and 85,820 in the control arm. Across all cancer types, patients managed by MCCs had an increased overall survival compared to control patients (HR = 0.67, 95%CI = [0.62, 0.71], I2=84%). Median survival time was 30.2 months and 19.0 months in the MCC intervention and control group, respectively. In subgroup analysis, a positive effect of MCC intervention on overall survival was found in breast, colorectal, esophageal, haematological, hepatocellular, lung, pancreatic, and head and neck cancer. Conclusions Overall, our meta-analysis found a significant positive effect of MCCs compared to controls. Further studies are needed to establish nuanced guidelines when optimizing MCC integration for treating diverse cancer patient populations.