ArticleAnnals of surgical oncology2020
The MelFo Study UK: Effects of a Reduced-Frequency, Stage-Adjusted Follow-Up Schedule for Cutaneous Melanoma 1B to 2C Patients After 3-Years.
Article in Annals of surgical oncology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Oncological surgery follow-up and quality of life: meta-analysis.The British journal of surgery · 2023Pooled it
- Conventional versus Reduced-Frequency Follow-Up in Early-Stage Melanoma Survivors: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2023Pooled it
- Assessing the Potential for Patient-led Surveillance After Treatment of Localized Melanoma (MEL-SELF): A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA dermatology · 2022Trial
- Review
- Employing skin self-examination and fear of cancer recurrence management in early-stage melanoma follow-up: evaluation of the MELACARE intervention in a randomised controlled trial.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2025Article
- Service implications of the revised 2022 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) follow-up guidelines for stage IA-IIC melanoma.The British journal of surgery · 2024Article
- Article
- ASO Author Reflections: The MelFo-Study, UK: Effects of a Reduced Frequency, Stage-Adjusted Follow-Up Schedule for Cutaneous Melanoma IB-IIC Patients After 3 Years.Annals of surgical oncology · 2020Article
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8 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence-based guidelines for follow-up treatment of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stages 1B to 2C melanoma patients are lacking. The MELanoma FOllow-up study is an international phase 3 randomized trial, and the 3-year interim data were recently reported from the Netherlands. The study was undertaken concurrently with a British cohort for comparison and validation of the Dutch study.
methodsThe study enrolled and stratified 207 patients by AJCC stage. The conventional schedule group (CSG; n = 103) cohort was reviewed as per UK guidelines. The experimental schedule group (ESG; n = 104) cohort was reviewed in a reduced-frequency nurse-led, consultant-supervised clinic. Quality of life (QoL) was measured at baseline (T1), a 1 year (T2), and at 3 years (T3) using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Cancer Worry Scale, the Impact-of-Event Scale, and the Mental and Physical Component scales (PCS/MCS) of the RAND-36.
resultsOf the 207 QoL questionnaires, 170 (82.1%) were completed at T3. Both cohorts expressed high satisfaction (> 93%) with their regimens. At T3, no significant group effect was found on any patient-reported outcome measures scores, indicating no QoL difference between the follow-up protocols. Recurrence had developed in 33 patients Conventional follow-up (CFU), 16 [15.5%]; Experimental follow-up (EFU), 17 [16.3%]. Self-examination was the method of detection for 12 ESG patients (70.6%) and 11 CSG patients (68.8%). The melanoma-specific survival was identical.
conclusionThe UK 3-year data were consistent with the previous Dutch report. The reduced follow-up strategy was shown to be safe, with significant resource usage benefits for national cancer services. Patient anxiety levels were not increased by a less-intensive follow-up regimen, and acceptance was high. The study data indicate that patient self-examination is very effective for recurrence detection.
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