Table 5.

Colon cancer: Postoperative follow-up.

	NCCN® a Recommendations	ESMO b Recommendations	JSCCR c Recommendations
History and physical examination	stage II-IV: every 3–6 months for 2 years, then every 6 months for a total of 5 years	every 3–6 months for 3 years and every 6–12 months at years 4 and 5	every 3 months for 3 years, then every 6 months for 2 years
Tumour markers	CEA monitoring, as above	as above	every 6 months for 3 years, then annually for 2 years
CT chest-abdomen-pelvis	stage II–IV: every 6–12 months for 5 years (stage IV: every 3–6 months for the first 2 years)	every 6–12 months for 3 years and annually for years 4 and 5	every 6 monthly for 3 years, then annually for 2 years (stage III: every 6 months for 5 years)
Colonoscopy	stage I–IV: at 1 year after surgery (except if no preoperative colonoscopy due to obstructing lesion, colonoscopy in 3–6 months). Further colonoscopy intervals determined by findings at 1 year	every 3–5 years starting 1 year after surgery	at 1 year after surgery and at 3 years after surgery

Adapted with permission from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®) for Guideline Colon Cancer V.1.2022. © 2022 National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Inc. All rights reserved. The NCCN Guidelines^® and illustrations herein may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the express written permission of NCCN. To view the most recent and complete version of the NCCN Guidelines, go online to NCCN.org. The NCCN Guidelines are a work in progress that may be refined as often as new significant data become available; CEA = carcinoembryonic antigen; ^a NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines^®) [13]; ^b European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) guidelines [15]; ^c Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum (JSCCR) guidelines [18].