[Surveillance after primary resection of esophageal, gastric, pancreatic, hepatobiliary cancer and gastrointestinal stroma tumor (GIST)].

A high rate of recurrence after primary resection is common to all tumor entities discussed here. However, there is no scientific evidence that regular surveillance after primary surgery changes the natural course of disease. Nevertheless, patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and a subgroup of patients suffering from other non-colorectal gastrointestinal tumors may benefit from selected follow-up examinations. This manuscript gives some practical guidance on how to individually follow these patients after primary tumor resection.