ASCO 2021 | ENSURE: impact of surveillance after esophageal cancer surgery on quality-of-life

John V. Reynolds, MD, St. James’s Hospital and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, discusses the variability that exists across protocols that are currently used for patient follow up after patients received curative treatment for their esophageal cancer. Prof. Reynolds highlights the findings from the ENSURE study (European iNvestigation of SUrveillance after Resection for Esophageal cancer); patients who are under strict supervision and have a regular follow up have greater chances for their potential metastasis to become detected early on. Prof. Reynolds outlines that for patients with oligometastatic disease, alternative interventions including surgery can be used as a curative treatment as long as the metastasis is detected early. Results from this study could be used for future protocols which should assess what treatment is appropriate and cost-effective to cure the patient and generally leads to better patient outcomes This interview took place at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2021 Virtual Meeting.