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Evidence summaries

Follow-Up of Treated Early Breast Cancer

Follow-up based on regular physical examinations and yearly mammography is as effective than more intensive follow-up in patients with early breast cancer (clinical stage I, II or III) for overall and disease-free survival. Level of evidence: "A"

A Cochrane review [Abstract] 1 included 5 RCTs with a total of 4023 subjects. According to two RCTs (2563 women) there was no difference in overall survival (hazard ratio 0.96, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.15) or disease-free survival (hazard ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.00) between women followed up with an intensive scheme including radiological and laboratory tests compared to follow-up based on clinical visits and mammography. According to 2 studies there were no differences in time to detection of occurrence (HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.47; 2 studies, n=1264, moderate-quality evidence), overall survival (HR 1.07, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.78; 1 trials, n=968, moderate-quality evidence), or quality of life between hospital-based follow-up and general practitioner follow-up.

    References

    • Moschetti I, Cinquini M, Lambertini M et al. Follow-up strategies for women treated for early breast cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2016;(5):CD001768. [PubMed]

Primary/Secondary Keywords