Opinions of Turkish Physicians About the Participation of Patients and/or Patient Caregivers in Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards; A Survey Study From Tertiary Center in Konya

Abstract Objective: Multidiscplinary management is very important component of treatment of cancer. Multidisciplinary tumor boards (MB) provide the chance for shared-decision making in this complex type of disease. The participation of patients or caregivers in MB is a contentious issue and is not common in Turkey. In this study we aimed to determine what Turkish physicians participating MTBs in Selcuk University Faculty of Medicine think about the participation of patients and caregivers in MTBs. Method: The study was conducted in Selcuk University Faculty of Medicine in August 2022. The physicians that accepted to participate completed a 9-item questionnaire. The relationships between the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and their questionnaire responses concerning MTBs were analyzed using Pearson’s chi-square test or the Fisher-Freeman-Halton test. Results: No statistically significant correlation was found between the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and the opinions of cancer patients or their relatives about their participation in multidisciplinary tumor boards. 50 % of the participants do not approve participation of patient or caregivers in MTBs. 35 % of participants approve the participation of both in the MB. 4.4 % of participants approve only the participation of caregivers whereas only the 8.9 % of medical oncologist approve only the participation of patients in tumor board. Conclusion: Among 45 Turkish physicians in a tertiary care center, half of the participants do not approve of the participation of patients or caregivers in MTBs. The major reason for this lack of approval is fear that patients and caregivers will not understand medical terminology which may lead to misunderstanding by patients or caregivers

Efficacy and safety of folfiri plus aflibercept in second-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer: Real-life data from Turkish oncology group

Aims: The addition of aflibercept to the fluorouracil and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) regimen significantly improved clinical outcomes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) previously treated with oxaliplatin. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of second-line FOLFIRI and aflibercept combination in patients with metastatic CRC in real-life experience. Materials and Methods: Four hundred and thirty-three patients who treated with FOLFIRI and aflibercept in the second-line were included in the study. The clinical and pathological features of the patients were recorded retrospectively. Survival (overall and progression-free survival [PFS]), response rates, and safety data were analyzed. Results: The median age was 61. Majority of patients (87.5%) received first-line bevacizumab and 10.1% of patients received anti-epidermal growth factor receptor agents. About 80% of patients had KRAS, 18.6% of patients had NRAS, and 6.4% of patients had BRAF mutations. The median OS was 11.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.6-12.6) and the median PFS was 6 months (95% CI, 5.5-6.5). About 4.6% of patients had complete response and 30.6% of patients had partial response as best tumor response. Grade 1-2 toxicities were seen in 33.4% of patients, while grade 3-4 toxicities were recorded in 27% of patients. Eight patients (2%) died due to treatment toxicity. Conclusions: Overall and PFS were similar in routine clinical practice compared to phase III pivotal VELOUR trial. However, response rates were found to be higher. It was observed that there were fewer adverse events compared to the VELOUR trial