Role of regular follow-up after curative surgery for colorectal cancer.
OBJECTIVE
This investigation aimed to estimate the value of regular follow-up programs after curative resection for colorectal cancer.


METHODS
We compared the recurrence rate, rate of curative re-resection, and survival rate between groups who had either regular or irregular follow-up. The medical records of 397 consecutive patients, who underwent a curative resection for colorectal cancer between January 1994 and December 1997, were analyzed retrospectively.


RESULTS
The recurrence rate was 19.4% and 20.8% in the regular and irregular follow-up groups (P > 0.05), respectively. There was a significant difference in the asymptomatic recurrence rate (62.9 vs. 18.7%; P = 0.021), but curative re-resection was possible in 18 (29.0%) of those patients with cancer recurrence in the regular follow-up group, and in 2 (12.5%) in the irregular follow-up group, which was not significantly different (P > 0.05). 5-year survival rate between the groups was not significantly different (78.1 vs. 61.2%; P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
A regular follow-up program after a curative resection for colorectal cancer, although facilitating detection of recurrence before symptoms developed, was unlikely to succeed in increasing the rate of a curative intent re-resection and survival remarkably.
Min
Byung Wook
BW
Department of Surgery, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. gsmin@korea.ac.kr
Urn
Jun Won
JW
Moon
Hong Young
HY
D000368:Aged; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate