Follow-up for breast cancer - the patients' view

Background: International and national guidelines (S3 guideline)
for the surveillance of post-treatment breast cancer patients
recommend a clinical follow-up including routine history and
physical examination and regular mammograms. The practice of a
clinical follow-up has been often discussed, but has been proven
not to be inferior when compared to an intensified follow-up in
randomized trials. Patients and Methods: The present manuscript
reports the patients' view on the basis of a survey including 2000
patients with a history of breast cancer. Results: A total of 452
patients (22.6%) answered the questionnaire. The median age was 62
years (range 23-85 years). More than 80% of the patients were
disease-free at the time of the survey. The need for surveillance
was affirmed by the majority of patients (>95%), and one third
stated that there was a need for more technical efforts during
follow-up. In contrast to the follow-up guidelines, the results of
the present survey indicated that most of the regularly scheduled
follow-up visits were expanded using extensive laboratory and
imaging procedures. Conclusion: This survey shows that the majority
of physicians obviously do not accept the present follow-up
guidelines. A new surveillance study investigating the efficacy of
an intensified surveillance based on the improved possibilities of
modern diagnostics and endocrine, immunotherapeutic,
chemotherapeutic and interventional treatment options is warranted.