Follow-up after rectal cancer: developing and testing a novel patient-led follow-up program. Study protocol

AbstractBackground: The main treatment for non-metastatic rectal cancer (RC) is surgical resection. Late adverse effects that are highly prevalent and negatively impact patients’ symptom burden and quality of life are: bowel-, urological and sexual dysfunctions; psychological distress; fear of recurrence. Patients and clinicians have requested a more patient-centred follow-up, balancing the focus on detection of recurrence, and physiological and psychological late adverse effects. The current follow-up program primarily focuses on detection of recurrence, with less attention on late adverse effects. As a consequence, the randomized controlled trial Follow-up after Rectal Cancer (FURCA) has been launched, testing the effect of a new patient-led, follow-up program. The aim of this paper is to describe the methodology used in the FURCA study and to report results from the development of the patient-led, follow-up program. Adult patients, treated with curative intent for primary adenocarcinoma in the rectum a...