Ezendam NPM, de Rooij BH, Kruitwagen RFPM, Creutzberg CL, van Loon I, Boll D, Vos MC, van de Poll-Franse LV. ENdometrial cancer SURvivors' follow-up carE (ENSURE): Less is more? Evaluating patient satisfaction and cost-effectiveness of a reduced follow-up schedule: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial.
Trials 2018;
19:227. [PMID:
29661218 PMCID:
PMC5902894 DOI:
10.1186/s13063-018-2611-x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
It has often been hypothesized that the frequency of follow-up visits for patients with early-stage endometrial cancer could be decreased. However, studies evaluating effects of a reduced follow-up schedule among this patient group are lacking. The aim of this study is to assess patient satisfaction and cost-effectiveness of a less frequent follow-up schedule compared to the schedule according to the Dutch guideline.
Methods
In this multicenter randomized controlled trial, patients diagnosed in the Netherlands with stage 1A and 1B low-risk endometrial cancer, for whom adjuvant radiotherapy is not indicated (n = 282), are randomized. Patients allocated to the intervention group receive four follow-up visits during three years. Patients allocated to the control group receive 10–13 follow-up visits during five years, according to the Dutch guideline. Patients are asked to fill out a questionnaire at baseline and after 6, 12, 36, and 60 months. Primary outcomes include patient satisfaction with follow-up care and cost-effectiveness. Secondary outcomes include healthcare use, adherence to schedule, health-related quality of life, fear of recurrence, anxiety and depression, information provision, recurrence, and survival. Linear regression analyses will be used to assess differences in patient satisfaction with follow-up care between intervention and control group.
Discussion
We anticipate that patients in the intervention arm have a similar satisfaction with follow-up care and overall outcomes, but lower healthcare use and costs than patients in the control arm. No differences are expected in quality-adjusted life-years and satisfaction, but the reduced schedule is expected to be cost-saving when implemented in the Netherlands.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02413606. Registered on 10 April 2015.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2611-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse