Real-world experience of Molecular Tumour Boards for clinical decision-making for cancer patients

Julio Herrero Colomina; Eleanor Johnston; Kate Duffus; Zoulikha M Zaïr; Fiona Thistlethwaite; Matthew Krebs; Louise Carter; Donna Graham; Natalie Cook

doi:10.1038/s41698-025-00863-3

Real-world experience of Molecular Tumour Boards for clinical decision-making for cancer patients

Julio Herrero Colomina, Eleanor Johnston, Kate Duffus, Zoulikha M Zaïr, Fiona Thistlethwaite, Matthew Krebs, Louise Carter, Donna Graham, Natalie Cook

Division of Cancer Sciences (L5)

The Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Molecular Tumour Boards (MTBs) play a crucial role in interpreting genomic results and providing treatment recommendations. We investigated the real-world impact of MTBs on clinical decision-making by surveying health care professionals (HCPs) across the UK; 44 participants from 11 MTBs took part in the study. 97.7% of respondents felt that MTBs increased awareness of available clinical trials matched to genomic alterations, 84% reported more confidence in interpreting genomic data, and 95.4% valued MTBs as educational. Hurdles to the discussion at MTBs included frequency and capacity of MTBs (ctDNA), sample collection and laboratory turnaround time (Tissue samples). One-third of respondents encountered challenges attending MTBs regularly due to workload. The survey highlighted areas for optimisation, such as meeting efficiency, rapid molecular analysis turnaround time, reliable trial matching tools, and ensuring MTBs are included in HCP's job plans.

Original language	English
Article number	87
Journal	npj Precision Oncology
Volume	9
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-025-00863-3
Publication status	Published - 25 Mar 2025

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abstract = "Molecular Tumour Boards (MTBs) play a crucial role in interpreting genomic results and providing treatment recommendations. We investigated the real-world impact of MTBs on clinical decision-making by surveying health care professionals (HCPs) across the UK; 44 participants from 11 MTBs took part in the study. 97.7\% of respondents felt that MTBs increased awareness of available clinical trials matched to genomic alterations, 84\% reported more confidence in interpreting genomic data, and 95.4\% valued MTBs as educational. Hurdles to the discussion at MTBs included frequency and capacity of MTBs (ctDNA), sample collection and laboratory turnaround time (Tissue samples). One-third of respondents encountered challenges attending MTBs regularly due to workload. The survey highlighted areas for optimisation, such as meeting efficiency, rapid molecular analysis turnaround time, reliable trial matching tools, and ensuring MTBs are included in HCP's job plans.",

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AU - Herrero Colomina, Julio

AU - Johnston, Eleanor

AU - Duffus, Kate

AU - Zaïr, Zoulikha M

AU - Thistlethwaite, Fiona

AU - Krebs, Matthew

AU - Carter, Louise

AU - Graham, Donna

AU - Cook, Natalie

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AB - Molecular Tumour Boards (MTBs) play a crucial role in interpreting genomic results and providing treatment recommendations. We investigated the real-world impact of MTBs on clinical decision-making by surveying health care professionals (HCPs) across the UK; 44 participants from 11 MTBs took part in the study. 97.7% of respondents felt that MTBs increased awareness of available clinical trials matched to genomic alterations, 84% reported more confidence in interpreting genomic data, and 95.4% valued MTBs as educational. Hurdles to the discussion at MTBs included frequency and capacity of MTBs (ctDNA), sample collection and laboratory turnaround time (Tissue samples). One-third of respondents encountered challenges attending MTBs regularly due to workload. The survey highlighted areas for optimisation, such as meeting efficiency, rapid molecular analysis turnaround time, reliable trial matching tools, and ensuring MTBs are included in HCP's job plans.

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Real-world experience of Molecular Tumour Boards for clinical decision-making for cancer patients

Abstract

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