How initial tumor stage affects rectal cancer patient follow-up

Many believe that follow-up testing for rectal carcinoma patients after primary curative-intent therapy should be rather intensive for high-stage lesions and less intensive for low-stage lesions. We recently carried out a survey of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) to quantify the strategies they use after primary treatment for their own patients. Considerable variability in surveillance exists. Here we report how initial TNM stage affects follow-up intensity. We devised vignettes succinctly describing otherwise healthy patients with rectal carcinoma (stages I-III). We mailed a questionnaire based on the vignettes to the 1,795 ASCRS members. Responses deemed evaluable were entered into a computer database. The effect of TNM stage on follow-up intensity for patients with stage I, II, or III rectal carcinoma treated with radical surgery was assessed by repeated-measures ANOVA. The surveillance modality most frequently utilized was the office visit. In year 1 following surgery for patients with stage I lesions, 3.8+/-2.7 office visits (mean +/- SD) were recommended, decreasing to 1.5+/-1.0 in year 5. For patients with stage III lesions treated with radical surgery +/- adjuvant therapy, 4.0+/-2.8 office visits were recommended in year 1, decreasing to 1.7+/-1.2 in year 5. Similar results were generated for all commonly used surveillance modalities. The intensity of follow-up after curative-intent treatment for rectal carcinoma varies minimally across TNM stages. This suggests that a controlled trial comparing high-intensity versus low-intensity follow-up testing could be carried out without stratification by TNM stage.