An Optimized Follow-Up Strategy for Esophageal Cancer Patients: Personalized and Cost-Effective Surveillance Protocols

Researchers conducted a cohort study involving 4688 patients with esophageal cancer to develop an optimized postsurgery follow-up strategy. By using recursive partition analysis and a random survival forest, patients were stratified into four groups based on pathological features, with surveillance strategies developed for each group. These strategies were validated and found to outperform mainstream guidelines in terms of cost-effectiveness and efficiency. The study also supported the use of specific imaging techniques for high-risk groups. Overall, this study provides evidence for personalized and economical follow-up strategies and offers insights for optimizing follow-up in other cancer types.