Popularity of less frequent follow up for breast cancer in randomised study: initial findings from the hotline study
Abstract
Objective: To compare the experiences of patients with breast cancer who were conventionally monitored with those in whom routine follow up was restricted to the time of mammography.
Design: Randomisation to conventional schedule of clinic visits or to visits only after mammography. Both cohorts received identical mammography and were invited to telephone for immediate appointments if they detected symptoms.
Setting: Combined breast clinic, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
Subjects: 211 eligible outpatients with a history of breast cancer.
Main outcome measures: Acceptability of randomisation, interim use of telephone and general practitioner, satisfaction with allocation to follow up.
Results: Of 211 eligible patients, 196 (93%) opted for randomisation in the study. Of these, 55 were under 50 years, 78 were diagnosed fewer than five years before, 90 had stage T2-4 tumours, and 71 had involved axillary nodes. Patients who did not participate were more likely to be under 50 years, to be two to five years after diagnosis, and to have had aggressive primary disease. Twice as many patients in both groups expressed a preference for reducing rather than increasing follow up. No increased use of local practitioner services or telephone triage was apparent in the cohort randomised to less frequent follow up by specialists.
Conclusions: Reducing the frequency of routine follow up has so far proved popular among patients with breast cancer at standard risk in this cohort. A…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 211 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- A Coupled SYSTEM of Intracellular Ca 2+ Clocks and Surface Membrane Voltage Clocks Controls the Timekeeping Mechanism of the Heart’s Pacemaker
- A Comprehensive Review on the Therapeutic Potential of Curcuma longa Linn. in Relation to its Major Active Constituent Curcumin
- Cancer epigenetics: Moving forward
- Current developments in LC-MS for pharmaceutical analysis
- Myricetin: A comprehensive review on its biological potentials
- A Computational Systems Biology Software Platform for Multiscale Modeling and Simulation: Integrating Whole-Body Physiology, Disease Biology, and Molecular Reaction Networks
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.