[Breast carcinoma--revision of after-care recommendations. 1: Results of many large studies from the literature are in agreement].

In the past, recommendations for the follow-up of women who had undergone primary treatment for local or locoregional breast cancer, were mostly concerned with "programmed" protocols in which the frequency of the follow-up appointments, and the examinations to be performed on the respective occasions (e.g. bone scintigraphy, chest X-ray, abdominal ultrasound, mammography and laboratory investigations) were rigidly fixed. Numerous new facts reported in the literature (including prospective randomized studies and meta-analyses) now appear to show that this formalized approach to follow-up brings the patient no advantage in terms of approved chances of being cured, longer survival or better quality of life. For this reason, for breast cancer follow-up, a strategy is proposed that is based on meticulous history-taking and clinical examination, and which also emphasizes psychosocial rehabilitation aspects. Examinations using technical equipment are carried out only when justified by clinical suspicion of recurrent disease.