Value of Adherence to Posttreatment Follow‐Up Guidelines for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objectives The utility of intensive posttreatment surveillance of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has been debated. The objective is to investigate adherence to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) posttreatment follow‐up guidelines and assess the association with recurrence and survival. Methods A total of 452 patients diagnosed with HNSCC at an academic medical center in a socioeconomically disadvantaged, urban setting were categorized by adherence to NCCN follow‐up guidelines. Survival analyses were conducted to study the association between adherence and the 5‐year overall survival and disease‐specific survival in the entire cohort and subset of patients with documented recurrence. Results We found that 23.5% of patients were adherent to NCCN follow‐up guidelines in the first year after treatment, and 15.9% were adherent over 5 years. Adherence in the first year was significantly associated with 5‐year overall survival (HR 0.634; 95% CI 0.443–0.906; p = 0.0124) and disease‐specific survival (HR 0.556; 95% CI 0.312–0.992; p = 0.0470), but consistent adherence over 5 years did not show a significant association. Among the 21.7% of the cohort with recurrence, adherence was not associated with early‐stage recurrence (AJCC stage I/II). In this subset, first year adherence was associated with improved disease‐specific but not overall survival, and adherence over 5 years was not associated with survival. Conclusion Adherence to NCCN follow‐up guidelines in the first year after treatment was associated with a better chance of 5‐year overall and disease‐specific survival, but this significant association was not observed among those who demonstrated consistent adherence over 5 years. Level of Evidence 3 Laryngoscope, 134:708–716, 2024 In this study of 452 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in the Bronx, NY, routine posttreatment follow‐up in the first year was associated with a better chance of 5‐year survival, whereas consistent follow‐up over 5 years was not associated with improved survival.