Patient-initiated follow-up for high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: how we do it and 2 years of outcome data.

Background: For patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs), current guidance suggests we should offer post-treatment follow-up appointments at regular intervals for 24 months. Is this to improve prognosis, provide psychological support or find the next cancer? Recent data confirm that recurrence and metastasis are rarer events, and that perhaps these intense follow-up schedules do not really lead to improved health outcomes.

Objectives: To question whether current follow-up practices are truly needed by introducing an option of patient-initiated follow-up (PIFU).