Multidisciplinary meeting for breast cancer care: EUSOMA recommendations for optimization

In breast cancer care multidisciplinary meetings (MDMs) are fundamental. Recently, the increasing number of patients, the complexity of cancer treatments, the shortages of specialists, and constrained hospital budgets have underscored the urgency of optimizing MDM processes to ensure that every patient benefits from thorough and timely multidisciplinary evaluation.

The European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA) set up a multidisciplinary working group of international experts to develop consensus-based recommendations to optimize MDM management. To obtain insights into the current state of MDM organization and management within Europe and elsewhere, the experts designed and conducted an international survey.

Briefly, the survey showed that most centres held a weekly MDM, either in person, online or combining the modalities, which lasted for 1-2 h. Discussion times for each case varied with its complexity. Some differences emerged between European and non- European breast cancer centres. The recommendations for improving MDM management focused on: i) timing, venue, logistics, administrative support; ii) technologies/equipment; iii) documentation; iv) planning and preparation; v) structure; vi) minutes/reporting; and viii) other issues.

Optimizing MDM ensures that each patient receives the most appropriate, guideline-aligned treatment, tailored to individual needs. With the present recommendations, EUSOMA wishes to support breast centres in improving and standardizing MDM management.