Foo, Jen Chun and Jawin, Vida and Yap, Tsiao Yi and Bahuri, Nor Faizal Ahmad and Ganesan, Dharmendra and Mun, Kein Seong and Loh, Jasmin and Raja Aman, Raja Rizal Azman and Gottardo, Nicholas G. and Qaddoumi, Ibrahim and Moreira, Daniel C. and Rajagopal, Revathi (2021) Conduct of neuro-oncology multidisciplinary team meetings and closing the ``gaps'' in the clinical management of childhood central nervous system tumors in a middle-income country. Childs Nervous System, 37 (5). pp. 1573-1580. ISSN 0256-7040, DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-021-05080-4.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Purpose Multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTMs) are essential in the clinical management of pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors. Evaluations of the impact of MDTMs on childhood CNS tumors and clinicians' perspectives on their effectiveness are scarce. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of pediatric patients (aged <18 years) with CNS tumors diagnosed and treated in the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Division at the University Malaya Medical Center from 2008 to 2019. We also conducted a web-based survey of the core members of the multidisciplinary team to evaluate the impact of the MDTMs. Results During the pre-MDTM era (2008-2012), 29 CNS tumors were diagnosed and treated, and during the MDTM era (2014-2019), 49 CNS tumors were diagnosed and treated. The interval for histologic diagnosis was significantly shorter during the MDTM era (p=0.04), but the interval from diagnosis to chemotherapy or radiotherapy and the 5-year overall survival of the 78 patients did not improve (62.1% +/- 9.0% vs. 68.8% +/- 9.1%; p=0.184). However, the 5-year overall survival of patients with medulloblastoma or rare tumors significantly improved in the MDTM era (p=0.01). Key factors that contributed to delayed treatment and poor outcomes were postoperative complications, the facility's lack of infrastructure, poor parental education about early treatment, cultural beliefs in alternative medicine, and infection during chemotherapy. Eighteen clinicians responded to the survey; they felt that the MDTMs were beneficial in decision-making and enhanced the continuity of coordinated care. Conclusion MDTMs significantly reduced the diagnostic interval and improved the overall outcomes. However, delayed treatment remains a major challenge that requires further attention.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Multidisciplinary team meeting;Neuro-oncology;Survival outcome;Treatment delay |
| Subjects: | R Medicine |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Medicine |
| Depositing User: | Ms Zaharah Ramly |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Jun 2022 04:44 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Jun 2022 04:44 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/34505 |
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