Quality of surveillance for stage I testis cancer in the community

Patients with clinical stage I testicular germ cell tumors have been managed with adjuvant radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND). The use of surveillance-only strategies at referral centers has yielded survival outcomes comparable to those achieved with adjuvant therapy. We evaluated compliance with follow-up protocols developed at referral centers within the community.

We identified patients with stage I testis cancer within a large private insurance claims database and calculated compliance of follow-up test use with guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Surveillance was widely used in the community. Compliance with surveillance and postadjuvant therapy follow-up testing was poor and degraded with increasing time from diagnosis. Nearly 30% of all surveillance patients received no abdominal imaging, chest imaging, or tumor marker tests within the first year of diagnosis. Patients who elected RPLND were most compliant with recommended follow-up testing within the first year. Recurrence rates were consistent with previously reported literature, despite poor compliance.

Surveillance is a widely accepted strategy in clinical stage I testicular cancer treatment in the community. However, follow-up care recommendations developed at referral centers are not being adhered to in the community. Although recurrence rates are similar to those of reported literature, the clinical impact of noncompliance on recurrence severity and mortality are not known. Further prospective work needs to be done to evaluate this apparent quality of care problem in the community.