Current Practices and Potential Technological Advancements in Multidisciplinary Tumor Board Workflows: A Scoping Review
Main Article Content
Keywords
multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTBs), cancer care, healthcare workflows, extended reality (XR), artificial intelligence (AI)
Abstract
Introduction: Cancer remains a leading global cause of death, demanding coordinated, patient-centerd care. Multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTBs) improve outcomes but face time pressure and fragmented data. The German Virtual Reality Multidisciplinary Tumor Board (VR-MTB) project aims to address these gaps by developing an immersive platform that unifies clinical, imaging, and laboratory data and integrates AI-driven decision-support tools.
Methodology: A scoping review was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) to map existing research on tumor boards published between 2020 and 2025. Of 168 records identified, 57 met the inclusion criteria.
Results: The review identified current practices, workflows, and challenges in MTBs. While MTBs improve cancer care through collaborative decision-making, conventional settings face inefficiencies due to fragmented data, time constraints, limited participants engagement, and poor system interoperability. Virtual MTBs (vMTBs) gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing potential for greater efficiency and inclusion. Barriers to adopting tools like extended reality (XR) and artificial intelligence (AI) include integration issues, resource constraints, resistance to change, and usability concerns, despite demonstrated value in pilot implementations.
Discussion and Conclusion: This scoping review mapped current MTB practices, revealing key workflow gaps and barriers to adopting advanced tools like XR and AI. While vMTBs show promise, successful digital transformation requires standardized processes, stakeholder engagement, integration with hospital systems, and further real-world evidence to ensure clinical impact and user adoption.
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