Follow-up after rectal cancer: developing and testing a novel patient-led follow-up program. Study protocol

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Patient-centered care
• Clinical trial methodology

Background:

• Rectal cancer (RC) treatment involves surgery, often leading to prevalent late adverse effects impacting quality of life.
• Current follow-up protocols prioritize recurrence detection over managing these late effects.
• Patients and clinicians advocate for a more holistic, patient-centered follow-up approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the methodology of the Follow-up after Rectal Cancer (FURCA) randomized controlled trial.
• To report on the development of a novel patient-led follow-up program for rectal cancer survivors.
• To evaluate the impact of a patient-led follow-up on symptom burden and quality of life.

Main Methods:

• Adult patients with non-metastatic rectal adenocarcinoma are randomized into two groups.
• Intervention group receives standardized education and self-referral access to a project nurse.
• Control group follows the current standard follow-up program with routine medicals.

Main Results:

• The patient-led education program was developed using focus group interviews and expert feedback.
• An algorithm was created to guide research nurses' responses to patient self-referrals.
• Primary outcomes include symptom burden and quality of life measured by the FACT-C questionnaire.

Conclusions:

• The FURCA study will provide evidence for optimizing rectal cancer follow-up care.
• Results will inform the ongoing transformation towards more patient-centered cancer follow-up programs.
• This research aims to enhance the well-being of rectal cancer survivors by addressing both recurrence and late adverse effects.