[Shared responsibility for follow-up of breast cancer patients. Experience of the Institut Curie]

Routine follow-up of breast cancer patients in specialist clinics is standard practice. This follow-up involves regularly scheduled breast cancer check-ups during the disease-free period, in order to detect recurrence. However, demands on specialist resources rise with the increase in the prevalence of diagnosed breast cancer. Since September 2004, it was proposed in our Institut an alternative routine follow-up schedule. Some patients who are in remission for more than 5 years will be deferred to their general practitioner or gynaecologist for follow-up schedule, alternatively with their referent practitioner from the institut (oncologist, radiation oncologist, or surgeon). We herein present the preliminary results of this strategy, and demonstrate that partially transferring primary responsibility for follow-up does not compromise its quality.