HOW PRACTICE PATTERNS IN COLON-CANCER PATIENT FOLLOW-UP ARE AFFECTED BY SURGEON AGE

Background: Strategies for the follow-up of colon cancer patients afte r potentially curative treatment are known to vary widely. The optimal regimen remains unknown. We investigated whether the date of completi on of formal surgical training affects choice of surveillance strategy . Methods: The 1070 members of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and the 1663 members of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surge ons (ASCRS) were surveyed using a detailed questionnaire to measure ho w these surgical experts deal with colon cancer follow-up. Subjects we re asked how they use nine specific follow-up modalities during years 1-5 following primary treatment for patients with colon cancer (TNM St ages I-III). Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compar e practice patterns by TNM stage and year post-surgery, as well as by the year in which the surgeon's formal surgery training was completed. Results: Evaluable responses were received from 349 SSO members (33%) and 646 ASCRS members (39%). Few significant differences in follow-up practices were noted by training period, but follow-up for most of th e nine modalities was highly correlated with TNM stage and year post-s urgery, as expected. Conclusions: This analysis indicates that the pos t-treatment surveillance practice patterns of surgeons caring for pati ents with colon cancer do not vary substantially with practitioner age . The data provide credible evidence that postgraduate education is ef fective in homogenizing practitioner behaviour.