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Multidisciplinary Treatment for Liver Cancer in China: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Practices, Gaps and Future
Wei Wang1,2, Wei Jia1,2, Dao-Cheng Zhan1,2
1Ward II, Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230031, People's Republic of China.
Objective:
To systematically evaluate the current status of the establishment and operation of multidisciplinary treatment (MDT) for liver cancer in China, identify key bottlenecks, and provide a scientific basis for promoting the transition of MDT from "demonstration and exploration" to "standardized construction".
Methods:
This study adopted a cross-sectional survey design to systematically investigate the current establishment and operational status of MDT for liver cancer in China. A total of 1,073 hospitals across 31 provincial-level administrative regions in China were selected as study sites. The study participants included 1,279 clinicians and relevant medical staff directly engaged in the clinical practice of liver cancer MDT.
Results:
A total of 1,279 questionnaires were distributed, with 1,073 valid responses collected (validity rate: 83.89%). The results revealed the following characteristics of liver cancer MDT in China: (1) Organizational Structure: 51.35% of hospitals had implemented liver cancer MDT, with 24.14% establishing fixed teams. The predominant model was department-led (65.25%); (2) Clinical Practice: Annual case discussions showed a polarized distribution (≤50 cases: 41.70%; >200 cases: 16.99%). A majority (90.73%) recognized MDT's significant impact on clinical decision-making, while 83.01% of respondents, based on their subjective experience, held the perception that MDT might be associated with survival improvement in patients; (3) Quality Control Systems: 79.92% of hospitals had basic quality control mechanisms, but only 2.96% had independent quality control departments. Information technology infrastructure required improvement (only 35.91% achieved data platform integration); (4) Key Bottlenecks: Insufficient policy support (41.18%), staffing challenges (19.92%), and scheduling difficulties (13.82%).
Conclusion:
While liver cancer MDT has been preliminarily established in hospitals in China, challenges such as regional disparities, hospital-level gradient, weak quality control, and inadequate IT infrastructure persist. A tripartite strategy-incorporating tiered healthcare delivery, standardized protocols, and technological innovation-is recommended to achieve a qualitative transformation and support the "Healthy China 2030" initiative in liver cancer prevention and treatment.
