Tumour boards and their quality of structures, processes, and team performance in multidisciplinary cancer care: a systematic review

In many healthcare systems, multidisciplinary team meetings (MDTs or tumour boards) play a central role in cancer care. MDTs give treatment recommendations based on the current medical knowledge of therapies and drugs. However, they require a high range of financial, human, and time resources, while the effectiveness of MDTs and their benefits for patients is still insufficiently scientifically evaluated. A comprehensive systematic review of the existing literature was conducted, summarising the available evidence on the effectiveness of MDTs. The aim of this systematic review was to analyse the structures and processes of MDTs, to identify factors that are crucial running a high-quality MDT regarding team performance, and their impact on patient management. We systematically reviewed the literature in PubMed, using different keywords regarding the effectiveness of multidisciplinary teamwork in MDTs. Studies published between 2011 and November 2025 concerning MDTs in clinical settings were considered. PICO elements were used as parameters to set up inclusion and exclusion criteria. The selection of articles followed the PRISMA 2020 statement. Three researchers independently screened and evaluated 371 full-text articles out of 3,430 abstracts through the Rayyan tool and Endnote. Data from 97 selected studies were extracted, including 85 original research articles and 12 systematic or scoping reviews. Relevant information was categorised according to author, study design, methods, objective, and conclusion. Results show the pivotal role of MDTs in cancer care for improving quality, coordination, and evidence-based discussions in cancer care. Although validated key performance indicators for MDT quality exist, they are inconsistently implemented in routine practice due to structural, organisational, and resource-related constraints. Future studies should focus on assessing MDTs within specific tumour types to facilitate comparability and to better understand their impact on patient management outcomes. Implementational constraints should be faced by targeted organisational development, systematic quality assessment, leadership and communication training to further improve MDT performance, decision-making and quality of care.