Individualised follow-up for head and neck cancer—design of a prospective cohort study to assess its feasibility
Introduction It is a common practice for many cancer types to monitor patients after treatment to detect new disease manifestations early. For head and neck cancer (HNC), however, long-term routine follow-up is up for debate for several reasons. The benefits of prolonged routine follow-up on surviva...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e068750.full |
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| author | Cecile van de Weerd Julia J. van Tol-Geerdink Guido B. van den Broek Johannes H.A.M. Kaanders Henri A.M. Marres Rosella P.M.G. Hermens Robert P. Takes |
| author_facet | Cecile van de Weerd Julia J. van Tol-Geerdink Guido B. van den Broek Johannes H.A.M. Kaanders Henri A.M. Marres Rosella P.M.G. Hermens Robert P. Takes |
| author_sort | Cecile van de Weerd |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction It is a common practice for many cancer types to monitor patients after treatment to detect new disease manifestations early. For head and neck cancer (HNC), however, long-term routine follow-up is up for debate for several reasons. The benefits of prolonged routine follow-up on survival have not been proven. Also, cancer follow-up is putting increasing pressure on healthcare resources due to rising incidence and survival rates. Therefore, this study investigates a novel follow-up approach among HNC patients, giving them the opportunity to choose their own follow-up programme.Methods and analysis HNC patients are offered a decision-aided choice between standardised or individualised follow-up after 1.5 years of uncomplicated guideline-prescribed follow-up. Standardised follow-up entails continuing the 5-year guideline-prescribed schedule. Individualised follow-up means the patient only attends the outpatient clinic on their own initiative in case of physical symptoms or supportive care needs. Patients are educated on self-examination and when a control visit is necessary. The primary outcome measure is the feasibility of offering patients this choice. Secondary outcome measures are quality of life, costs, productivity loss and detection of new disease.Ethics and dissemination We believe that it is essential to let patients determine their follow-up programme based on their own values and preferences. If this choice is feasible, it can be implemented and investigated in other HNC care centres.Trial registration number NCT05386225. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2a3c2a0ee1e940308e10c41af4d5403b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
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| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-2a3c2a0ee1e940308e10c41af4d5403b2025-08-20T02:57:01ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-12-01121210.1136/bmjopen-2022-068750Individualised follow-up for head and neck cancer—design of a prospective cohort study to assess its feasibilityCecile van de Weerd0Julia J. van Tol-Geerdink1Guido B. van den Broek2Johannes H.A.M. Kaanders3Henri A.M. Marres4Rosella P.M.G. Hermens5Robert P. Takes6Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, Gelderland, The NetherlandsDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, Gelderland, The NetherlandsDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, Gelderland, The NetherlandsDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, Gelderland, The NetherlandsDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, Gelderland, The NetherlandsDepartment of IQ Healthcare, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, Gelderland, The NetherlandsDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, Gelderland, The NetherlandsIntroduction It is a common practice for many cancer types to monitor patients after treatment to detect new disease manifestations early. For head and neck cancer (HNC), however, long-term routine follow-up is up for debate for several reasons. The benefits of prolonged routine follow-up on survival have not been proven. Also, cancer follow-up is putting increasing pressure on healthcare resources due to rising incidence and survival rates. Therefore, this study investigates a novel follow-up approach among HNC patients, giving them the opportunity to choose their own follow-up programme.Methods and analysis HNC patients are offered a decision-aided choice between standardised or individualised follow-up after 1.5 years of uncomplicated guideline-prescribed follow-up. Standardised follow-up entails continuing the 5-year guideline-prescribed schedule. Individualised follow-up means the patient only attends the outpatient clinic on their own initiative in case of physical symptoms or supportive care needs. Patients are educated on self-examination and when a control visit is necessary. The primary outcome measure is the feasibility of offering patients this choice. Secondary outcome measures are quality of life, costs, productivity loss and detection of new disease.Ethics and dissemination We believe that it is essential to let patients determine their follow-up programme based on their own values and preferences. If this choice is feasible, it can be implemented and investigated in other HNC care centres.Trial registration number NCT05386225.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e068750.full |
| spellingShingle | Cecile van de Weerd Julia J. van Tol-Geerdink Guido B. van den Broek Johannes H.A.M. Kaanders Henri A.M. Marres Rosella P.M.G. Hermens Robert P. Takes Individualised follow-up for head and neck cancer—design of a prospective cohort study to assess its feasibility BMJ Open |
| title | Individualised follow-up for head and neck cancer—design of a prospective cohort study to assess its feasibility |
| title_full | Individualised follow-up for head and neck cancer—design of a prospective cohort study to assess its feasibility |
| title_fullStr | Individualised follow-up for head and neck cancer—design of a prospective cohort study to assess its feasibility |
| title_full_unstemmed | Individualised follow-up for head and neck cancer—design of a prospective cohort study to assess its feasibility |
| title_short | Individualised follow-up for head and neck cancer—design of a prospective cohort study to assess its feasibility |
| title_sort | individualised follow up for head and neck cancer design of a prospective cohort study to assess its feasibility |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e068750.full |
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