The Contribution of Follow-Up Programs in the Reduction of Mortality of Rectal Cancer Recurrences

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Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate whether patients, who have undergone curative surgery for rectal cancer and present with recurrence of the disease, could have a better chance of radical reoperation and increased survival if they were diagnosed earlier due to a screening program, when they were still asymptomatic, than those who were not followed up and their recurrence is discovered by its symptoms. 113 patients, 52 men and 61 women (mean age 64.19 years, SD 10.76), who presented recurrence of the disease after radical resection for rectal carcinoma were evaluated in a follow-up period of 5 years. 53 of them (46.9%, group I) were asymptomatic and their recurrence was detected in a routine follow-up examination. The remaining 60 patients (53.1%, group II) were not followed up regularly and the recurrence was diagnosed by the development of symptoms. The two groups were comparable with regard to patients' sex, type of operation, postoperative morbidity, tumor stage, histologic differentiation, size of primary tumors, the distance from the anal ring and distal margin. There was no difference in the disease-free period between the two groups (17.3 +/- (SD) 9.9 months in group I versus 20.3 +/- (SD) 14.4 months in group II, p = 0.1). 24 out of 53 patients in group I (45.2%) and 24 out of 60 patients in group II (40%) underwent surgery for their recurrence, but only in 8 and 9 cases, respectively, could the operation be considered as curative. The mean postrecurrence survival was 13.14 +/- (SD) 23.8 months for group I and 10.97 +/- (SD) 18.03 months for group II (p = 0.113). There was no difference in survival between the two groups after surgical treatment of the recurrence (p = 0.14). Our data show that if we exclude the palliative treatment of symptoms such as hemorrhage or obstruction, only a small percentage of patients with recurrent colorectal cancer will benefit from the treatment and achieve an increased survival, which is independent of the postoperative follow-up program.

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