Presence in head and neck cancer multidisciplinary team meeting: The patient's experience and satisfaction

In oncology, multi-disciplinary team meetings improve overall survival and reduce time to treatment in head and neck cancer. Interestingly, no study has examined the experience of patients attending an MTM. The present study addressed two questions: Does the MTM cause anxiety/depression for patients who are present? Are patients satisfied at the end of the meeting?

The study included all patients attending an MTM, who agreed to participate in the study and who fully completed two questionnaires. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and a satisfaction questionnaire were filled out at three time-points: T0 before MTM, T1 at end of MTM, and T2 1 month after MTM for the HADS; and T1 and T2 for the satisfaction questionnaire.

There were no significant differences in the number of patients experiencing anxiety between T0 and T1 (P=0.6085), T0 and T2 (P=1) or T1 and T2 (P=1). Likewise, there were no significant differences in the number of patients in depression between T0 and T1 (P=0.9397), T0 and T2 (P=1) or T1 and T2 (P=1). Mean satisfaction was good (question 14 on the satisfaction questionnaire: 8.7/10 at T1 and 7.7/10 at T2), but with a significant decrease between T1 and T2 (P=0.0009: i.e.,<0.05). Percentage information remembered (question 12) significantly decreased between T1 (mean 86%, standard deviation 0.2, median 94%) and T2 (78%±0.2, median 81%) (P=0.03). Presence in the MTM did not appear to induce or increase anxiety or pre-existing depressive syndrome.