Despite the availability of colonoscopy, metachronous colorectal cancer is still seen during follow-up in patients with colorectal cancer; the highest risk is during the first 3 years after initial diagnosis. For this reason, a follow-up colonoscopy is useful at a short-term interval after colorectal cancer diagnosis. The presence of synchronous colorectal cancer at the time of first colorectal cancer diagnosis is the only predictive risk factor for developing metachronous colorectal cancer. Tailored surveillance programs may be considered in patients with a diagnosis of synchronous tumors.
Patients diagnosed with CRC were less likely than controls to have had a colorectal examination in previous years, being more pronounced in patients diagnosed with left-sided CRCs. If diagnostic examinations have a similar protective effect as screening examinations, this finding supports the concept that colorectal examination can have a major impact on the reduction of CRC risk.
Both immunochemical FOBTs appear valuable and are sensitive tests for CRC screening. TuM2-PK does not have supplemental value for screening for CRC because of a lower sensitivity and specificity. None of these tests is sensitive enough for detection of advanced adenomas. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease should be excluded from CRC screening when using immunochemical FOBT or TuM2-PK.
Despite recent Dutch postpolypectomy guidelines, clinicians incorporate histology and size into their clinical strategy. Either further education on the guidelines is needed, or the guidelines need to be reconsidered. Furthermore, evidence-based guidelines for FU after CRC should be formulated.
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