Multidisciplinary care (MDC) facilitates the delivery of high-quality lung cancer services, improving survival, guideline-based treatment, and quality of life for patients with the disease, according to a new report.
Despite being one of the most commonly occurring forms of the disease, only modest improvements have been made for lung cancer survival in recent decades, with only 14.1% and 5% of patients living 5 and 10 years after diagnosis, respectively. MDC, in which multiple health care professionals work together to develop an individualized care plan for each patient, has the potential to improve the quality of care for these patients.
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To determine the effect of MDC on different outcomes, including survival, for patients with lung cancer, researchers led by Eve Denton, Alfred Hospital (Melbourne, Australia), conducted a literature review of MDC programs. In one study, patients treated with MDC experienced better overall survival after 1 year. An additional study showed that the implementation of MDC teams doubled patient survival time from 3.2 months to 6.6 months. In addition to survival benefits, other studies reported that MDC had a positive impact on staging, adherence to staging guidelines, and quality of life during palliative care.
The authors noted that there was little data on lung cancer survival and MDC from randomized trials, leaving them to rely primarily on observational studies, which have inherent limitations. Still, multiple studies implied benefit from the use of MDC when treating patients with lung cancer.
The researchers also identified current barriers to successful MDC. Most notably, a lack of dedicated time could prevent physicians from participating in or attending MDC meetings. Additionally, institutions face considerable financial and administrative burdens when trying to implement programs that coordinate professionals from a multitude of specialties.
The authors concluded that MDC has the potential to improve outcomes and the delivery of high-quality care for patients with lung cancer, but more quality evidence is needed to confirm these associations along with ways to overcome implementation barriers.
