Virtual Tumor Boards

Dr. Sunil Patel reviewing scan on computer.

Our virtual tumor boards aim to provide specialty consultation remotely to best care for patients. The multidisciplinary cancer teams at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center work to develop customized treatment plans that address factors unique to each patient's diagnosis and medical history.

Often in just one day – and under one roof – patients are seen by several specialists and complete the diagnostic procedures needed for a confident assessment of their disease.

A critical piece of this multidisciplinary care comes from our tumor boards. The boards provide a forum where a team of experts from a wide range of specialties meet for in-depth, evidence-based discussion of tumor diagnosis and management. Each program holds its own weekly tumor board, with specialists including medical oncology, surgery, radiology, radiation oncology, pathology, research, clinical trials and epidemiology.

The tumor boards review the clinical history, imaging and pathology of each patient, create individualized treatment plans and identify patients who may benefit from clinical trials.

For Providers

Submitting a Case To Thoracic and Neuro-Oncology Virtual Tumor Boards

With a grant from the Duke Endowment in 2011, Gerard A. Silvestri, M.D., MS, an MUSC Health pulmonologist and thoracic cancer specialist, launched the first virtual tumor board at Hollings Cancer Center. By taking advantage of new communication technologies, Dr. Silvestri and the Virtual Thoracic Tumor Board have been providing remote access to a multidisciplinary thoracic cancer team at Hollings to physicians across South Carolina. When submitting a case, physicians are able to virtually attend the tumor board where they may present their patients themselves and discuss the case, while interacting with all of the assembled specialists via teleconference. They also may chose of attending, to simply receive a summary of the discussion and the tumor board’s recommendation. For less complicated cases, they can request a simple consult.

By offering community physicians access to a team of experts at the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, the virtual tumor boards act as a platform to communicate with colleagues and reassure local providers that they are devising the most appropriate treatment plan for their patients.

The Virtual Tumor Board program at Hollings Cancer Center has now expanded to include the Virtual Neuro-oncology Tumor Board, providing remote access for the collaborative care of brain tumor patients in South Carolina.

Discuss an Oncology Case

To discuss an oncology case with a provider about another specialty, call 843-792-2200 or 800-922-5250.