Current status of postoperative follow-up for lung cancer in Japan: questionnaire survey by the Setouchi Lung Cancer Study Group-A0901.
OBJECTIVE
There is no recommended standard follow-up program after resection for lung cancer. Under these circumstances, each doctor establishes his or her own follow-up protocol. This questionnaire survey was conducted to grasp the current status of postoperative follow-up in Japan.


METHODS
The questionnaire survey was aimed at determining what examinations were performed and at what frequencies in the setting of postoperative follow-up. Based on these results, examinations performed at a frequency of >50% and the time points after resection at which they were performed were selected and presented as components of an average follow-up program.


RESULTS
Questionnaires were sent to 44 institutions, and 26 doctors responded to the questionnaire. All 26 of the doctors performed physical examinations, blood examinations, chest radiography, and computed tomography (CT) routinely, but their frequencies varied widely among the doctors. The average frequencies of the follow-up examinations as judged from this survey are as follows: Physical and blood examinations are performed three to four times a year for the first 3 years and twice a year during the next 2 years. CT is scheduled at 6 and 12 months after resection and is repeated annually thereafter. Chest radiography is performed three to four times a year for the first 3 years and once a year thereafter, between the CT examinations.


CONCLUSIONS
The follow-up programs used in clinical practice vary widely among institutions and doctors in terms of the types of examination performed and the frequencies at which they are performed.
Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Hospital Organization Shikoku Cancer Center, 160 Kou, Minamiumemoto-cho, Matsuyama, Ehime 791-0280, Japan. ssawada@shikoku-cc.go.jp
Shigeki
S
Sawada
Hiroshi
H
Suehisa
Motohiro
M
Yamashita
Masao
M
Nakata
Norihito
N
Okumura
Kazunori
K
Okabe
Hiroshige
H
Nakamura
Hirohito
H
Tada
Shinichi
S
Toyooka
Hiroshi
H
Date
D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome