Colorectal cancer. The bases for a comprehensive follow-up.

The purpose of this article was to review the effectiveness of follow-up in patients with colorectal cancer submitted to curative treatment. A comprehensive follow-up involves rational initial management of the primary tumor, knowledge of prognostic factors, selection of the patient to be followed, determination of the time for follow-up, use of the most appropriate tests for early diagnosis of recurrence, and eventual curative treatment. The updated answers to all these questions are given through an extensive review of the world literature and confronted with the authors' experience of eight years of follow-up in a series of 170 colorectal cancer patients treated for cure. Although the future might be more promising, past world experience suggests only a few patients could be saved. It is concluded that there is no place for incomplete and disperse screening tests, and only comprehensive, intensive, and very well-coordinated follow-up programs should be undertaken if better results are hoped to be achieved.