IS FOLLOW-UP OF COLORECTAL-CANCER PATIENTS WORTHWHILE

Between 1978 and 1989, 1.045 of 1,399 patients (580 male and 474 femal e) underwent curative surgery for colorectal carcinoma. Of these patie nts. 350 (33 percent) had recurrences, another 16 (1.5 percent) develo ped a metachronous colorectal cancer, and 23 (2 percent) had cancers o f other organs. An isolated locoregional recurrence was found in 75/35 0 (21 percent). The remaining 275/350 patients (79 percent) showed sys temic dissemination of the carcinoma. Reoperations with curative inten t were performed on 56/350 patients (16 percent). Only 21 of the 56 re sected patients (38 percent), i.e., 21/350 (6 percent), were without r ecurrence at the end of the follow-up period on December 31, 1990. Des pite a curative reoperation, 62 percent of the patients again develope d recurrent growths. There is an imbalance between the efforts investe d in tumor follow-up and the benefits gained. Further follow-up progra ms should be investigated in a controlled, prospective fashion.