Does the frequency of routine follow-up after curative treatment for head-and-neck cancer affect survival?

Routine follow-up is a cornerstone of oncology practice, but evidence to support most aspects of follow-up is lacking. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between frequency of routine follow-up and survival.

This population-based study used electronic health care data relating to 5310 patients from Ontario diagnosed with squamous-cell head-and-neck cancer during 2007-2012. Treatments included surgery (24.6%), radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy (52.4%), and combined surgery and radiotherapy (23%). We determined the oncologist who was following each patient after treatment; calculated the average follow-up visits to the oncologist during the subsequent 2.5 years for all patients who were doing well; and used Kaplan-Meier and multiple variable regression analysis to compare, by treatment, overall survival for patients in the high, typical, and low follow-up oncologist groups.

Many oncologists saw patients 40%-80% more often than other oncologists did. No relationship of appointment frequency with survival was observed for patients in any treatment group.

The practice of routine follow-up varies and is costly both to a health care system and to patients. Without evidence about the effectiveness of current policies, further research is required to investigate new or optimal practices.