title: Patient participation in multidisciplinary tumor conferences.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify (1) how frequently patients are invited to take part and actually do take part in multidisciplinary tumor conferences (MTCs), (2) which patient characteristics affect whether they are invited to MTCs and whether they decide to participate, (3) the extent to which invitation and participation depend on the specific hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey data from 4146 newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients treated in 83 hospitals in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, were analyzed using multilevel modeling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  12% of the patients were offered participation in the MTC. More than half of these patients actually participated. Invitations to participate differed by patients' sociodemographic, disease, and treatment characteristics, whereas decisions to participate were largely independent of these characteristics. Invitation and participation are strongly dependent on the specific hospital.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The practice of inviting cancer patients to MTCs requires further research, particularly on benefits and disadvantages for patients and ways of organizing MTCs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science (IMVR), Faculty of Human Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Eupener Strasse 129, 50933 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: lena.ansmann@uk-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ansmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science (IMVR), Faculty of Human Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Eupener Strasse 129, 50933 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: christoph.kowalski@uk-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kowalski
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science (IMVR), Faculty of Human Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Eupener Strasse 129, 50933 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: holger.pfaff@uk-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pfaff
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ludwig Maximilian University, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377 Munich, Germany. Electronic address: rachel.wuerstlein@med.uni-muenchen.de.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wuerstlein
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, University of Education Freiburg, Kunzenweg 21, 79117 Freiburg, Germany. Electronic address: markus.wirtz@ph-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Markus Antonius
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wirtz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Sociology, Health Services Research and Rehabilitation Science (IMVR), Faculty of Human Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Eupener Strasse 129, 50933 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: nicole.ernstmann@uk-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ernstmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D003226:Congresses as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Breast cancer; Multidisciplinary; Patient involvement; Patient participation; Tumor board; Tumor conference