OBJECTIVES: Although follow-up surveillance after resection for lung cancer is commonly performed in clinical practice, there is no standard follow-up program. We attempted to establish follow-up examination schedules that we considered would be acceptable to the majority of doctors, and would like to propose them as standard postoperative follow-up pathways. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective analysis of patients' data and reviewed the time of detection of recurrence and the site of recurrence after resection. Published papers were also reviewed. The postoperative follow-up pathways were established based on these data. PROPOSED FOLLOW-UP PATHWAY: The follow-up period was set at as 5 years after resection, and physical examinations, chest radiography, chest CT and blood examination are recommended. Two follow-up pathways were proposed taking the risk of recurrence into consideration: the Risk of recurrence-based pathway and the Comprehensive pathway. In the Risk of recurrence-based pathway, the follow-up examination schedule is modified according to the risk of recurrence. In the Comprehensive pathway, a single universal examination schedule is recommended for all patients. The choice between these two pathways is left to the discretion of the attending doctor. CONCLUSIONS: We proposed two follow-up pathways, based on retrospective analysis of patients' data and a review of published papers, which we considered would be acceptable to the majority of doctors and would be suited to the current medical environment in Japan. A prospective study to evaluate the efficacy of the follow-up pathways is ongoing.
OBJECTIVES: Although follow-up surveillance after resection for lung cancer is commonly performed in clinical practice, there is no standard follow-up program. We attempted to establish follow-up examination schedules that we considered would be acceptable to the majority of doctors, and would like to propose them as standard postoperative follow-up pathways. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective analysis of patients' data and reviewed the time of detection of recurrence and the site of recurrence after resection. Published papers were also reviewed. The postoperative follow-up pathways were established based on these data. PROPOSED FOLLOW-UP PATHWAY: The follow-up period was set at as 5 years after resection, and physical examinations, chest radiography, chest CT and blood examination are recommended. Two follow-up pathways were proposed taking the risk of recurrence into consideration: the Risk of recurrence-based pathway and the Comprehensive pathway. In the Risk of recurrence-based pathway, the follow-up examination schedule is modified according to the risk of recurrence. In the Comprehensive pathway, a single universal examination schedule is recommended for all patients. The choice between these two pathways is left to the discretion of the attending doctor. CONCLUSIONS: We proposed two follow-up pathways, based on retrospective analysis of patients' data and a review of published papers, which we considered would be acceptable to the majority of doctors and would be suited to the current medical environment in Japan. A prospective study to evaluate the efficacy of the follow-up pathways is ongoing.
Authors: David G Pfister; David H Johnson; Christopher G Azzoli; William Sause; Thomas J Smith; Sherman Baker; Jemi Olak; Diane Stover; John R Strawn; Andrew T Turrisi; Mark R Somerfield Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2003-12-22 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Arne Warth; Thomas Muley; Michael Meister; Albrecht Stenzinger; Michael Thomas; Peter Schirmacher; Philipp A Schnabel; Jan Budczies; Hans Hoffmann; Wilko Weichert Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2012-03-05 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: K S Virgo; K S Naunheim; L W McKirgan; M E Kissling; J C Lin; F E Johnson Journal: J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg Date: 1996-08 Impact factor: 5.209
Authors: Charles A Butts; Keyue Ding; Lesley Seymour; Philip Twumasi-Ankrah; Barbara Graham; David Gandara; David H Johnson; Kenneth A Kesler; Mark Green; Mark Vincent; Yvon Cormier; Glenwood Goss; Brian Findlay; Michael Johnston; Ming-Sound Tsao; Frances A Shepherd Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2009-11-23 Impact factor: 44.544