Assessing the Impact of Multidisciplinary Cancer Consultations on Cancer Quality Metrics

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Services Research
• Cancer Care Delivery

Background:

• Multidisciplinary cancer consultations are vital for collaborative cancer care planning and decision-making.
• Ensuring equitable access to guideline-recommended treatments is a key challenge in cancer care delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the association between multidisciplinary cancer consultations and guideline-recommended adjuvant treatment receipt in breast, colorectal, and non-small cell lung cancer patients.
• To examine these associations across different racial and ethnic groups to identify disparities.

Main Methods:

• Population-based retrospective cohort study utilizing SEER-Medicare linked data (2006-2016).
• Identified Medicare beneficiaries with nonmetastatic breast, colorectal, or non-small cell lung cancer.
• Defined multidisciplinary cancer consultation as ≥2 oncology provider encounters within 2 months of diagnosis; assessed receipt of guideline-recommended adjuvant treatment.

Main Results:

• Patients with multidisciplinary cancer consultations were more likely to receive adjuvant cancer treatment across racial and ethnic groups.
• However, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic breast cancer patients with consultations received 24% and 41% less hormone and radiation therapy, respectively, compared to non-Hispanic White patients.

Conclusions:

• Multidisciplinary cancer consultations are associated with increased adjuvant cancer treatment receipt but do not eliminate existing racial and ethnic disparities.
• These consultations are an important component of team-based care models aimed at reducing cancer outcome inequities, though further interventions are needed.