Practice Patterns in Rectal Cancer Patient Follow-Up are Unaffected by Surgeon Age

Background. Surveillance strategies for of rectal cancer patients after potentially curative treatment vary significantly. We investigated whether the age of the surgeon affects choice of surveillance strategy. Methods. We developed vignetres depicting 4 generally healthy patients with rectal cancer of various stages who received various treatments. A questionnaire based on these vignettes was sent to the 1795 members of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS). Results. There was no significant relationship between surgeon age and follow-up test-ordering schedules for any of the 4 vignettes. There was no significant relationship between surgeon age and 10 of the 11 possible motivating factors. Conclusions. Follow-up testing among ASCRS surgeons does not vary significantly among surgeons trained at various times. The motivation for follow-up testing is nearly uniform among age strate.