What is a molecular tumor board?
A molecular tumor board is a meeting where oncologists, pathologists, geneticists, and scientists review a patient's genomic results together and issue a recommendation on targeted therapy or trial options. Most are hospital-internal, review a limited number of cases, and are not available to patients directly.
How they work
A case is presented with its sequencing results. Participants discuss which alteration is the likely driver, whether the evidence supporting a matched therapy is strong or anecdotal, whether co-occurring alterations predict resistance, and which trials fit. The output is a documented recommendation that returns to the treating oncologist, who decides what to do with it.
The access problem
Molecular tumor boards concentrate at academic centers. Community practices, where most patients in the United States are actually treated, often have no access to one, or have access to a board that meets infrequently and can only take a fraction of eligible cases. Patients cannot self-refer to one.
That gap is what independent molecular review exists to fill: the same interpretive work, on your specific case, without waiting for a slot.
What an independent review gives you instead
A single scientist reading the data directly, with no institutional trial preference, no vendor relationship, and no cap on how much time your case gets. The deliverable is a written analysis your oncologist can act on. It is advisory: it does not diagnose, does not prescribe, and does not replace your treating physician.
Related questions
Can I request that my case go to a molecular tumor board?
You can ask your oncologist, but access depends on whether your institution runs one and how many cases it can take.
Is an independent review the same as a tumor board?
It is the same interpretive work performed by one scientist rather than a committee, without the institutional queue. It carries no institutional authority over your care.
Who performs the review at MITOTICS?
Kim Lockheimer, PhD, DFM, personally. There is no analyst tier and no handoff.
Reviewed 2026-08-13 by Kim Lockheimer, PhD, DFM.