Is Routine Follow-up Useful After Combined-Modality Therapy for Advanced Head and Neck Cancer?

Abstract
HEAD AND neck squamous cell carcinoma has traditionally been described as a tumor type in which rigorous follow-up is required. This idea has evolved because patients are at risk for developing both recurrence of the original tumor and a new second primary tumor. Many studies have reported rates of second primary tumors after treatment of head and neck cancer; these are usually on the order of 10% to 20%,1,2 or around 5% per year.3,4