Follow-up of patients with thoracic malignancies.

The optimal approach to the post-treatment management of patients with thoracic malignancies is a controversial topic. This is primarily because of the lack of widely accepted practice guidelines. Several guidelines have been promulgated for the follow-up of thoracic malignancies, but none have been tested in randomized controlled trials. The problem is an especially interesting one because little is known about how outcomes vary when the follow-up strategy is altered.