[Value of oncologic follow-up of patients operated for colorectal cancer. A prospective study of 1000 patients]

The purpose of our prospective study was to evaluate the contribution of follow-up in resected colorectal cancer.One-thousand patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma who underwent radial resection from January 1975 to January 1990 were prospectively divided into two groups: the first group (n = 442, 42%) entered a 5-year follow-up protocol and the second group (n = 558, 56%) was free to make unscheduled visits in case of symptoms.Recurrence was found in 31.5% of the patients in the first group compared with 33% in the second group. Chorioembryonic antigen was the most accurate test detecting recurrence: 77% of the cases (97% for hepatic metastasis). Surgical resection of recurrent tumors was performed in 37% of the group 1 patients (curative resection in 15%) and in 9% (curative resection in 1.5%) of the group 2 patients (p0.001). 5-year survival after recurrence in group 1 was 11.5% versus 1% in group 2 (p0.01).These results emphasize the rational for a follow-up program in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer.