Value of routine follow-up in patients treated for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

The records of 214 consecutively registered, previously untreated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region were reviewed. Among the 157 patients considered "free of disease" following the primary treatment 54 developed recurrences - all but three within three years. Only in patients with carcinoma of the larynx treated with radiation alone did follow-up disclose recurrences for which further treatment resulted in a significant number of cures. For these patients the cure rate was one in 79 routine appointments compared to only one cure in 325 appointments for patients with carcinoma in other localizations. It seems that our routine follow-up procedure for most types of carcinoma is too extensive and that follow-up beyond three years mainly will be of value for the possible detection of second primary malignancies.