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Radiation Therapy · Records, Consent & Process Literacy
What Is a Tumour Board — and Was My Case Discussed?
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gangadhar Vajrala, Radiation Oncologist, MBBS · MD (Radiation Oncology) · MPH · Last reviewed August 2026
A tumour board is the meeting where specialists from different disciplines review one patient's case together and agree a plan. If you have been handed a treatment schedule without ever being told who decided it, this page gives you the words to ask — who was in the room, when they met, and what they agreed. It is a fair question, and it is one of the most useful things a family can ask.
- Who actually sits in the room — the specialties whose opinions shape your plan, and what each one is there to answer.
- How to check if your case was reviewed — six questions, in order, and where the answer is normally written down.
- Whether you can request one — the exact wording to use, and the moment in the process when asking works best.
- What the board can and cannot settle — so you know which questions belong somewhere else entirely.
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The short answer
What is a tumour board?
A tumour board is a scheduled meeting where specialists from different disciplines review one patient's case together and agree a treatment plan. A medical oncologist, a surgical oncologist and a radiation oncologist sit with a radiologist and a pathologist. They look at the same scans and the same slides. The plan comes from the group, not one doctor.
You may hear it called a multidisciplinary team meeting, an MDT, a tumour conference, or simply “the board”. The names differ between hospitals. The purpose does not. It exists because no single specialty can see the whole picture on its own — a surgeon reads a scan differently from a radiation oncologist, and a pathologist may know something about the tumour that changes what either of them would recommend.
Guideline bodies including NCCN, ASTRO and ESMO describe cancer treatment planning as multidisciplinary work rather than a single specialist's decision. That is the standard your care is measured against, and it is why the question “who reviewed my case?” is a legitimate one to put to any team, anywhere.
This page describes how tumour boards generally work in Indian cancer hospitals. It explains what to ask and how to ask it. It is not legal advice about consent or medical records, and it is not a statement about what happened in your particular case — only your treating team can tell you that.
Did you know?
The reason so many families never ask about the tumour board is simply that nobody tells them it exists. The meeting usually happens without the patient present, often days before the plan is explained — so the decision arrives sounding like one doctor’s opinion when it may have been five specialists’ agreement. Knowing the meeting has a name is what makes it possible to ask about it.
Who is in the room
Who attends a tumour board?
A tumour board brings together the specialists who each control one part of the plan. Attendance varies by hospital and by cancer type. A typical board has three oncology disciplines plus the two specialists who read your images and your tissue, and someone who records what was agreed.
Systemic treatment
Medical oncologist
Answers whether drug treatment belongs in the plan, and whether it should come before or after local treatment.
Operability
Surgical oncologist
Answers whether the tumour can be removed, what removing it would involve, and whether waiting would change the answer.
Radiotherapy
Radiation oncologist
Answers whether radiotherapy is part of the plan, at what point in the sequence, and what the target area would be.
Reads the scans live
Radiologist
Walks the group through the actual images rather than the report, which is where disagreements about stage are usually settled.
Reads the slides
Pathologist
Confirms the tumour type and grade from the biopsy, and flags anything in the tissue that should change the plan.
When PET-CT matters
Nuclear medicine physician
Joins when a PET-CT is central to staging, to interpret findings the group is relying on for the decision.
Writes it down
Coordinator or specialist nurse
Records the agreed plan in your notes. This is the person whose entry you are asking for when you request it in writing.
Not only the tumour
Supportive-care specialists
Nutrition, pain and psycho-oncology input joins some boards, particularly when treatment will be long or physically demanding.
Asking which specialties were present is more useful than asking how many people attended. If radiotherapy is being considered and no radiation oncologist was in the room, that is worth raising with your treating consultant.
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You are allowed to ask who reviewed the case
If you would rather have the question asked properly, bring the reports to us. Medical, surgical and radiation oncologists look at them together.
Six questions, in order
Was my case discussed at a tumour board?
There is no way to know from the outside. The meeting happens without you in the room, and the plan you are handed looks identical either way. The only reliable method is to ask, and to ask specifically. These six questions take about ten minutes and work in any hospital.
1
Ask the question in plain words
Say it exactly as it is: "Was my case discussed in a multidisciplinary meeting?" Short and direct works better than a softened version, because it is hard to answer vaguely.
2
Ask when it happened
A date turns a general reassurance into a checkable fact. It also tells you whether the review happened before your plan was set or after.
3
Ask which specialties were in the room
You are looking for the disciplines relevant to your plan — medical, surgical and radiation oncology, plus radiology and pathology. If radiotherapy is being considered and no radiation oncologist was present, that is worth raising.
4
Ask what the group agreed, and what else was considered
The alternatives matter as much as the conclusion. Knowing which options were discussed and set aside tells you the decision was weighed, not assumed.
5
Ask for it in writing
The decision is normally recorded in your case notes, treatment summary or discharge summary. Requesting a copy is routine, not confrontational.
6
If you get no clear answer, escalate politely
Ask your treating consultant directly, or approach the hospital's medical records desk. Keep your own note of the date, who you asked and what you were told.
If you want the written record rather than a verbal answer, our guide to getting your radiation records and treatment plan files covers what to request and who to request it from.
Asking for a review
Can I ask for my case to be taken to a tumour board?
Yes, you can ask. It is a reasonable request, not a complaint about your doctor. Practice differs between hospitals, so asking does not mean it will automatically happen. Most teams will respond by telling you either when the review is scheduled, or why they consider your case straightforward enough not to need it.
Timing matters more than wording. The best moment is before treatment starts, while the plan can still change without disruption. The second-best moment is whenever the plan changes — a new scan finding, a change in the proposed sequence, or a recommendation that differs from what you were told earlier.
Words that work
“Before we start, I would like this reviewed in a multidisciplinary meeting. Is that possible, and when would it happen?”
“Has a radiation oncologist seen these scans, or only the surgical team?”
“Could you note in my file that I asked for a multidisciplinary review?”
Keep it calm and specific. A vague “I want a second opinion” often lands as dissatisfaction; a named request for a multidisciplinary review lands as an informed patient asking a process question. The difference in how it is received is significant, and it costs you nothing.
If a review is not possible where you are being treated, an independent second opinion is the usual alternative. Some families also ask about moving their radiation treatment to another centre mid-course — that is a bigger decision, and it is worth understanding before raising it.
Scope of the meeting
What can a tumour board actually decide?
A tumour board is a clinical meeting. It settles what treatment is appropriate and in what order. It does not handle money, scheduling or licensing — those questions have their own desks, and sending them to the board only delays the answer.
| Your question | Does the board settle it? | If not, who does |
|---|---|---|
| Which treatments suit my stage and tumour type | Yes — this is the core of the meeting | — |
| The order of treatment (surgery first, or radiation or drug treatment first) | Yes | — |
| Whether more tests are needed before deciding | Usually yes | — |
| Whether radiotherapy belongs in the plan at all | Yes, with the radiation oncologist present | — |
| What the treatment will cost, and what a scheme covers | No — not a clinical decision | The hospital's billing and scheme desk |
| Which centre and which machine deliver the radiation | No | Your radiation oncologist, with the NABH-accredited partner centre |
| Whether the centre is licensed to operate the machine | No | Regulatory approval — see what AERB approval means for a radiation centre |
| What time of day my daily session is | No | The scheduling desk — see choosing your radiation appointment slot |
Radiotherapy itself is delivered at an NABH-accredited partner centre; CION Cancer Clinics coordinates your treatment plan, your oncology team and your care throughout.
If the answer is no
What if my case was never discussed?
A “no” is not automatically a red flag. Some cases are straightforward enough that a specialist follows an established protocol without convening a group. That is normal practice and not, on its own, evidence that anything was missed.
Boards earn their value in the harder cases: a borderline stage, scans and pathology that do not fully agree, more than one defensible treatment order, an unusual tumour type, or a patient whose other health conditions rule some options out. If your situation looks like any of those and no group review happened, that is worth raising — politely, and in the words above.
Your practical options are the same in either case. Ask for a review where you are. Ask for an independent second opinion elsewhere. Or do both — asking for one does not close off the other. At CION Cancer Clinics, care is led by a team rather than a single doctor, and multidisciplinary review is built into how treatment plans are made, which is why a second opinion here puts medical, surgical and radiation oncology eyes on the same reports.
Bring whatever you have: the biopsy report, the scan images and reports, the plan you were given, and any earlier treatment summaries. Missing a document does not stop the conversation — it just narrows what can be said on the first visit.
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Bring the scans, the biopsy report and the plan. You will leave knowing who reviewed what, and what the alternatives were — no pressure, no commitment.
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Common questions
Tumour boards and multidisciplinary meetings — your questions answered
What is a tumour board, in simple terms?
A tumour board is a scheduled meeting where specialists from different disciplines review one patient's case together and agree a treatment plan. A medical oncologist, a surgical oncologist and a radiation oncologist sit with a radiologist and a pathologist, looking at the same scans and the same biopsy slides. Each one says what their type of treatment can and cannot do for your specific stage and tumour type. The plan that comes out is a group decision, not one doctor's preference. You may also hear it called a multidisciplinary team meeting, an MDT, or simply "the board" — they mean the same thing.
Who attends a tumour board meeting?
Attendance varies by hospital and by cancer type, but a typical board includes a medical oncologist, a surgical oncologist and a radiation oncologist, plus a radiologist who reads the scans live in the room and a pathologist who reads the biopsy slides. A nuclear medicine physician joins when a PET-CT is central to the decision. A coordinator or specialist nurse records what was agreed. Some boards also include supportive-care specialists such as a nutritionist or a psycho-oncologist. Asking which specialties were present is a fair and useful question.
How do I find out if my case was discussed at a tumour board?
Ask directly, in plain words: "Was my case discussed in a multidisciplinary meeting?" Then ask three follow-ups — when it happened, which specialties were present, and what the group agreed. Ask for the answer in writing, because the decision is normally recorded in your case notes, treatment summary or discharge summary rather than said out loud. If the answer is vague, ask your treating consultant directly, or request a copy of your records from the hospital's medical records desk. Write down the date and the answer you were given.
Can I ask for my case to be taken to a tumour board?
Yes, you can ask, and it is a reasonable request rather than a complaint. Practice differs between hospitals, so asking does not mean it will automatically happen — but most teams will explain either when the review is scheduled or why they consider it unnecessary for your case. The most useful moment to ask is before treatment starts, or whenever the plan changes. A calm, specific request works best: "Before we start, I would like this reviewed in a multidisciplinary meeting. Is that possible, and when?"
Does every cancer patient's case go to a tumour board?
Not always, and that is not automatically a warning sign. Some situations are straightforward enough that a specialist follows an established protocol without a group meeting. Boards are most valuable when the case is complex, when the stage is borderline, when more than one treatment order is defensible, or when scans and pathology do not fully agree. At CION Cancer Clinics, care is led by a team rather than a single doctor, and multidisciplinary review is built into how treatment plans are made. If you are unsure whether your own case was reviewed, ask.
Is a tumour board the same as a second opinion?
No. A tumour board is several specialists inside one team reviewing your case together at the same time. A second opinion is a separate specialist or a separate hospital reviewing your case independently, usually after the first plan already exists. The two answer different questions. A board asks "what is the right plan across all our disciplines?" A second opinion asks "would someone outside this team reach the same conclusion?" Many patients use both, and asking for one does not rule out the other.
This page describes how tumour boards and multidisciplinary meetings generally work in cancer care, based on published guidance from bodies such as NCCN, ASTRO and ESMO, as of August 2026. It is general information, not a statement about what happened in any individual case, and not legal advice about consent or medical records. Whether a specific case is reviewed, and when, is decided by the treating team at the treating hospital. Always confirm the details of your own care with your treating consultant.