| Author/Editor | Thallinger, Christiane; Berzinec, Peter; Bicakcic, Emina; Dan, Adelina; Fabian, Gabriella; Gales, Laurentia Nicoletta; Grašič-Kuhar, Cvetka; Janžič, Urška; Mencinger, Marina; Zielinski, Christoph | |
| Title | Establishment of a virtual transborder tumor board for cancer patients in Central and Southeastern Europe | |
| Type | članek | |
| Vol. and No. | , št. Vol. 134 | |
| Publication year | 2022 | |
| Volume | str. 697‐704 | |
| ISSN | 0043-5325 - Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift | |
| Language | eng | |
| Abstract | o establish a transborder virtual tumor board (VTB) fostering state-of-the-art management of cancer patients by exchanging knowledge and expertise among oncologists in Central and Southeastern Europe (CEE). Methods: We established and implemented a VTB based on the WebEx platform. This allowed for password-protected and secure upload of patient cases to be presented and discussed among colleagues from various oncology centers scattered throughout CEE in order to arrive at a recommendation for further diagnoses and/or treatment. Results: A total of 73 cases from 16 oncology centers located in 11 CEE countries were uploaded by 22 physicians; 71 were discussed over the course of 17 virtual meetings between June 2018 and May 2019 and 12 different kinds of malignant diseases were discussed with lung cancer (46.6%), melanoma (19.2%) and bladder cancer (13.6%) being the most commonly presented tumor entities. Of the discussed patients, 93.3% had stage IV disease at the time of presentation, 62.6% received chemotherapy or targeted treatment and 67.1% were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs). The most common causes for presentation and discussion of patient cases were related to the use of ICPIs (80%). Conclusion: When the need for expertise exceeds locally available resources, web-based VTBs provide a feasible way to discuss patient cases and arrive at conclusions regarding diagnoses and/or treatment across large geographic distances. Moreover, VTBs provide an innovative way for proper, state-of-the-art management of patients with malignant diseases in times of social distancing and the resulting need for restricted interaction during the current SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2) pandemic. | |
| Keywords | CECOG Osrednja in jugovzhodna Evropa nadzorni imunski zaviralci maligne bolezni CECOG Central and Southeastern Europe immune checkpoint inhibitors malignant diseases |