The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) has published a review of cancer multidisciplinary team (MDT), identifying ways to speed up treatment decisions and calling for a shift in how cancer MDTs operate across the U.K.
Conducted with Macmillan Cancer Support at the request of the government as part of the National Cancer Plan for England, the review found that formal MDT meetings are resource-intensive and often fail to deliver timely care. Key opportunities for improvement include the following:
- Allowing routine cases to progress without discussion at a formal MDT meeting, while focusing specialist capacity on complex cases and rarer cancers
- Ensuring that patients’ preferences and psychosocial factors are considered in treatment recommendations
- Improving team efficiency through clearer leadership expectations and better-supported MDTs
- Defining clear expectations for MDT technology so patient information and specialist expertise can move across providers and regional networks
The RCR and Macmillan will develop an MDT Improvement Toolkit to help healthcare providers put the changes into practice, with publication planned for spring 2027, according to the college.
