Frequency Of Follow-up Research Articles

Follow-Up after Curative Surgical Treatment of Soft-Tissue Sarcoma for Early Detection of Recurrence: Which Patients Have More or Fewer Visits than Advised in Guidelines?

Follow-up (FU) in soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) patients is designed for early detection of disease recurrence. Current guidelines are not evidenced-based and not tailored to patient or tumor characteristics, so they remain debated, particularly given concerns about cost, radiation frequency, and over-testing. This study assesses the extent to which STS patients received guideline-concordant FU and to characterize which type of patients received more or fewer visits than advised. All STS patients surgically treated at the Leiden University Medical Center between 2000-2020 were included. For each patient, along with individual characteristics, all radiological examinations from FU start up to 5 years were included and compared to guidelines. Recurrence was defined as local/regional recurrence or metastasis. A total of 394 patients was included, of whom 250 patients had a high-grade tumor (63.5%). Only 24% of patients received the advised three FU visits in the first year. More FU visits were observed in younger patients and those diagnosed with a high-grade tumor. Among patients with a recurrence, 10% received fewer visits than advised, while 28% of patients without a recurrence received more visits than advised. A minority of STS patients received guideline-concordant FU visits, suggesting that clinicians seem to incorporate recurrence risk in decisions on FU frequency.

Cutaneous melanoma: Medical specialists' opinions on follow-up and sentinel lymph node biopsy

BackgroundThe purpose, frequency and content of follow-up (FU) visits have been widely debated for all common malignancies, including melanoma. The aim was to gain insight into Dutch medical specialists' opinions on melanoma FU and to assess their views on sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). MethodsAll members of the Dutch Society of Surgical Oncology and the Dutch Society of Dermatology and Venereology were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire, consisting of 25 questions addressing the following topics: 1) respondent characteristics, 2) knowledge of national melanoma guideline, 3) opinions on melanoma FU, and 4) view on the significance of SLNB. ResultsA total of 378 respondents (response = 37%) started the survey, including 173 surgeons (46%) and 205 dermatologists (54%). Of these, 97% and 92% agreed that the purpose of FU is detection of local recurrence and second primary, respectively. Concerning frequency of FU in the first 10 years after diagnosis, 42% preferred a less frequent FU than indicated by the current guideline, while 4% preferred more frequent FU. Overall, twenty-five percent agreed that the standard diagnostics of cutaneous melanoma should include a SLNB, the percentage was highest amongst surgical residents (44%). ConclusionThe majority of specialists consider melanoma FU to be primarily an instrument to detect recurrences and secondary primaries. The frequency of FU, as prescribed by the current guideline, could be reduced according to 42%. The importance of SLNB seems to be insufficiently addressed in the Dutch guideline and by Dutch medical specialists despite its role in the AJCC staging system.

Pacemaker follow-up: are the latest guidelines in line with modern pacemaker practice?

Guidelines regarding pacemaker (PM) follow-up (FU) are not precisely defined. The study aim is to describe long-term routine in-hospital FU, evaluate compliance to guidelines, and assess the portion of visits-with-an-action (VWA). The multicentre prospective FOLLOWPACE study collected data in the period 2003-2010, regarding FU of 1517 patients with a first PM for bradycardia indications in 23 Dutch hospitals. A total of 15 472 visits were analysed with a median FU of 4.9 years, adding up to 6750 patient years. The median time to the first three visits was 35, 127, and 303 days, respectively. Thereafter the median interval between visits was 180 days. Most patients had 2 FU/year, 22% had 1 FU/year, and 18% had >3 FU/year. Seventy-three percent of patients with single-chamber PMs had at least 1 FU/year, whereas 36% of patients with dual-chamber PMs received at least 2 FU/year. During the first year, 52% of visits were VWA, as opposed to 17% after 6 years. Battery status was assessed in 98%, and stimulation and sensing thresholds in 90% and 77% of visits, respectively. Reprogramming markedly declined from ≈ 60% in the first FU visit to 10-20% after the fifth visit. Although the measurements during PM FU are according to guidelines, the frequency of FU is not. Moreover, in the vast majority of performed FU, PM programming is left unchanged. This suggests that a large portion of FU visits is redundant, such that their frequency after the first year can be diminished, or replaced by remote FU.

Stage one seminoma: Evidence based guidelines for follow up

4546 Background: Several management strategies are used following ochiectomy for stage one seminoma (SOS) of the testis. The aim of this systematic review (SR) is to provide evidence based guidelines for the follow-up (FU) schedule for each strategy regarding investigations required, frequency of assessment and overall duration. Methods: A SR of all prospective studies in SOS published since 1980 in MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane database was performed in November 2005. Data was extracted regarding the time, location and method of detection of first relapses, duration of FU, relapse free rates, and numbers of patients at risk. Five strategies were identified: Surveillance (S), Extended-field Radiotherapy (EFRT), Para-aortic Radiotherapy (PART) and either one (C1) or two (C2) cycles of Carboplatin chemotherapy. For each strategy Kaplan-Meier relapse free estimates were used to calculate weighted mean cumulative hazards of relapse over time. These were used to calculate yearly weighted mean relapse hazards. Weights used were based on numbers of patients at risk in each trial. Results: Fifteen prospective studies with a total of 5277 patients were identified. Actuarial relapse data was available in 4185 (79.3%) patients and 4850 (91.9%) had the location of relapse documented. Method of relapse detection was infrequently reported. The median time to relapse with all strategies was 12–16 months. Annual hazard ratios for relapse decreased with increasing length of FU and relapse location depended on the strategy used ( Table ). Conclusions: 1. The investigations performed need to reflect locations at risk of relapse. This should include computerised tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis for Survillance and adjuvant Carboplatin, with CT of the pelvis only for Para-aortic RT. 2. Long term FU data on patients treated with Carboplatin is not available, and further FU is necessary. 3. Frequency of FU should reflect the annual hazard of relapse. We suggest 3 times per year when the risk is >5%, 2 times per year when the risk is 1–5%, and annually until the risk is <0.3%. [Table: see text] No significant financial relationships to disclose.