After endoscopic treatment is over, it is not a high point. Your doctor will tell you:
“Regular follow-up is needed!”
First, the primary tumor site may recur.
Second, there are tumors that are latent in the body that may not have been detected during initial treatment. Although the primary lesion is removed, the underlying tumor may grow back.
Regular follow-up is like a “monitor” for the tumor, so that these metastatic or recurrent tumors can be detected in time, and your doctor can develop a new treatment plan for you as soon as possible. In other words, the review cannot prevent or delay the recurrence or metastasis of tumors, but it can detect and treat them early.
You may wonder: Is endoscopic treatment more likely to lead to tumor recurrence and metastasis?
No! Usually, patients who meet the indications for endoscopic treatment and receive standardized endoscopic treatment have the same risk of tumor recurrence or metastasis as patients who undergo surgery.
How to follow up
The timing of late review follow-up differs for endoscopic resection versus non-resection treatment:
Endoscopic resection
- Repeat gastroscopy every 3 months for the first year after treatment;
- After the second year of treatment, if there is no residual and recurrence, repeat gastroscopy once a year;
If the gastroscopy suspects recurrence or metastasis, your doctor will recommend periodic review of tumor markers and imaging such as chest CT, depending on your specific situation.
Endoscopic non-excisional treatment
- For the first year after treatment, repeat gastroscopy every 3 months and imaging such as CT every 6 months.
- Gastroscopy every 6 months for the second year after treatment.
Your doctor may also determine the interval and content of your follow-up exams based on your specific situation, so please listen to your doctor’s orders.
What if the review reveals a recurrence or metastasis?
If a tumor is found to have recurred or metastasized at the time of review, your doctor will perform a thorough evaluation of the new lesions, determine the severity, and then develop a new treatment plan through a variety of means, including blood tests and imaging.
The new regimen may include one or more of endoscopic resection again, surgical resection, systemic chemotherapy, and local radiation therapy.
After re-treatment, you will still need to have regular follow-ups, which are recommended as follows:
Revisit every 3 months; after complete clearance of the lesion, revisit once a year, as ordered by your doctor.
Co-written by:
Dr. Wang Police, Endoscopy Center, Peking University Cancer Hospital