Should all cases of lung cancer be presented at Tumor Board Conferences?

Abstract

Tumor Board Conferences (TBCs) have been associated with higher adherence of staging and treatment to guidelines. The influence of TBCs on the rate of curative treatments has been established. Patients with lung nodules and tumors of unknown histology should not be presented before surgery, but every patient with malignant histology should be declared to the TBC coordinator and registered at the time of histologic confirmation. This approach allows physicians to deal rapidly with simple cases on a systematic basis, to give more attention to the most complicated situations, and to offer every patient the benefit of a multidisciplinary approach.