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Multidisciplinary care

What Is a Tumour Board — and Why It Matters

A tumour board is where the specialists involved in your care sit together and agree on your treatment plan. It is one of the most important meetings that happens without you in the room.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla, Medical Oncologist, MBBS · MD · DM (Adyar, Chennai) · ECMO · MRCP SCE (UK) · Last reviewed September 2026

  • More than one opinion — No single specialist sees everything. The radiologist, pathologist and surgeon each bring something the others cannot.
  • Happens before treatment starts — Most tumour boards meet before a treatment plan is finalised, not after.
  • You can ask about it — You have the right to know whether your case was discussed, and to ask for it to be if it has not.
  • Recommended by international bodies — NCCN, ASCO and ESMO all include MDT review as part of standard cancer care.
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A tumour board is a meeting where your oncologist presents your case to a group of specialists — surgeon, radiologist, pathologist, radiation oncologist — and they agree on a treatment plan together. NCCN, ASCO and ESMO treat this as a standard step in cancer care, because a shared decision accounts for things one specialist alone might miss.

How does a tumour board work, step by step?

  1. Your records are collected

    Your oncologist gathers your scan reports, biopsy results, blood tests and clinical notes before the meeting.

  2. Your case is presented to the group

    Your oncologist presents your history, the imaging findings and the pathology report to every specialist in the room. You are not there, but your case is.

  3. Each specialist contributes

    The radiologist describes what they see on your scans. The pathologist explains what the biopsy showed. The surgeon, radiation oncologist and medical oncologist each say what they can offer and in what order.

  4. The group agrees on a recommendation

    The team reaches a consensus on the treatment plan they believe is most appropriate for you. Disagreements are discussed until a clear recommendation is formed.

  5. Your oncologist tells you

    Your treating oncologist brings the recommendation back to you at your next appointment. You can ask what each specialist said and why the group reached that conclusion.

Who is in the room at a tumour board?

The specialists present depend on your cancer type, but a full board for a solid tumour typically includes a medical oncologist, a surgical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, a radiologist and a pathologist.

Some boards also include a palliative care specialist, a clinical nurse coordinator, a pharmacist and — for cancers with a genetic component — a genetic counsellor.

Your treating oncologist chairs or presents your case. The others review the same images, pathology and history together in real time, rather than each reading the file separately.

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Can you ask whether your case was discussed at tumour board?

Yes, and you should. Ask your oncologist directly: was my case discussed at tumour board, and what did the group recommend?

If your case has not yet been discussed, you can ask for it to be. Most oncologists will welcome this, because it is the standard of care. If you are told a tumour board is not available at your centre, ask what specialist review process was used to arrive at your treatment plan.

At CION, multidisciplinary review is part of treatment planning. If you are unsure whether your case has gone through this process, your care team can confirm it.

Did you know?

ASCO and ESMO guidance on multidisciplinary care notes that having more than one specialist review the same case regularly leads to a change in the treatment plan — most often by adding a treatment step, adjusting the sequence, or identifying the need for further testing before starting.

The patient does not need to do anything for this to happen. They simply need to be at a centre where it happens routinely.

Source: ASCO and ESMO clinical guidelines on multidisciplinary cancer care

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Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Do I attend the tumour board meeting?

In almost all cases, no. The tumour board is a working meeting between specialists, and patients do not attend. Your case is discussed and a recommendation is formed, and your oncologist then brings that back to you. What you can do is ask your oncologist to explain the group's reasoning, to tell you which specialists were in the room, and to describe any disagreements that came up. That conversation with your oncologist is the part you participate in directly.

How often does a tumour board meet?

This varies by hospital and cancer type. Many tumour boards meet weekly for the cancers they cover most often. If your case is urgent, your oncologist can usually request that it be discussed at the next available meeting rather than waiting for a scheduled date. At larger centres, separate boards may meet for different cancer types — a breast board, a head and neck board, a lung board — rather than one general meeting covering everything.

What if the specialists on my tumour board disagree?

Disagreement is not unusual, and is often the most useful part of the meeting. When specialists disagree, the group discusses until they reach a consensus, or they may decide that further investigation is needed before the question can be settled. Your oncologist can tell you whether there was disagreement and how it was resolved. If you want a second opinion on the recommendation itself, that is a separate and entirely reasonable step — ask your oncologist how to arrange it.

Is a tumour board the same as a second opinion?

They are related but not the same. A tumour board is an internal process where multiple specialists at the same centre review your case together as part of routine care. A second opinion means having a separate oncologist, usually at a different centre, review your diagnosis and recommended plan independently. Both are legitimate, and one does not replace the other. If you want an external second opinion in addition to what the tumour board recommended, your care team can usually help you arrange it.

What should I ask at my appointment after the tumour board review?

Bring a list of questions rather than expecting to remember them on the day. The most important ones are: what did the board recommend and why, which specialists were present, were there any disagreements, and what happens next and in what order. If anyone raised the need for further tests, ask when those will be scheduled. Writing down what you hear is useful — this conversation carries a lot of information quickly, and having a family member with you to help listen and note things down makes a real difference.

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