Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Non-randomised studies comparing at least 2 follow-up programmes of different intensities, with a mean period of follow-up of at least 2 years in patients with colorectal cancer.
Specific interventions included in the review
Intensive follow-up to detect recurrence of cancer. This includes one or more of the following: physical examination, laboratory test, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, barium enema, chest x-ray and liver ultrasonography.
Participants included in the review
Patients with colorectal cancer who have had curative surgery.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Recurrences, deaths, symptomatic recurrences, operated recurrences, surgically resected recurrences, metachronous tumours and curatively resected metachronous tumours.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors do not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the authors performed the selection.