Surveillance of patients with stage I or II colorectal cancer in Japan: a JCOG study group questionnaire survey

• Published in: Japanese journal of clinical oncology 2021-12, Vol.51 (12), p.1761-1764
• Main Authors: Moritani, Konosuke, Shida, Dai, Kanemitsu, Yukihide, Shunsuke, Tsukamoto, Hamaguchi, Tetsuya, Shimada, Yasuhiro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Colorectal Neoplasms - diagnosis; Colorectal Neoplasms - epidemiology; Colorectal Neoplasms - surgery; Humans; Japan - epidemiology; Male; Rectum; Surveys and Questionnaires; Testicular Neoplasms
• ISSN: 1465-3621; 1465-3621
• DOI: 10.1093/jjco/hyab165

Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum guidelines recommend regular, more intensive surveillance of patients who have undergone curative resection of pathological stages I-III colorectal cancer compared with guidelines in Western countries. We conducted a questionnaire survey to clarify the status of surveillance for patients with stage I or II colorectal cancer in high-volume centers in Japan on behalf of the Colorectal Cancer Study Group of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group. Questionnaires were distributed in September 2019. The response rate was 98.3% (59/60 institutions). The survey results indicated that about half of colorectal cancer specialists in Japan perform surveillance for stages I and II colorectal cancer according to the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum guidelines. For stages I and II disease, 45% and 55% of surgeons, respectively, perform surveillance less intensively than recommended. Our findings suggest the possibility of less intensive surveillance for patients with stage I or II colorectal cancer in Japan.