[Advantages and weaknesses of the tumor board meeting in validating prophylactic mastectomy]

The evolution of our health care system strengthens multidisciplinary collaboration in medical practice. Today, the tumor board meeting (TBM) has become mandatory for treatment decision-making in oncology. Experts recommend that such a multidisciplinary tool be extended to prophylactic mastectomy. We will discuss the relevance of this extension on the basis of a survey with female patients and health professionals confronted with prophylactic mastectomy. Health professionals find the TBM necessary because it allows more reasoned and consensual proposals to be made, reduces the burden of difficult decisions, and promotes a comprehensive view of those who receive care. However, this approach has also drawn criticism. Unlike medical consultation, which focuses on a patient's singularity, the TBM seems poorly suited to take into account psychosocial factors governing the decision-making process. It may be easier for a group to reach a complex decision, but it does not mean that the TBM allows for decisions to be adapted on a singular basis. Therefore, we suggest to modify the TBM so that it better suits the needs of patients susceptible to breast cancer. The referring physician, who knows the patient best, should guide the content of multidisciplinary deliberations and put the focus on individual criteria raised during medical consultations.