Background: To explore the effects of using remote Internet follow-up on postradiotherapy compliance with medical advice provided to patients with esophageal cancer.
Patients and methods: Between January 1 and August 1, 2013, in total, 128 patients with esophageal squamous cell cancer treated with radiotherapy were randomly assigned to either an observation group (n=64) or a control group (n=64). The control group received routine outpatient follow-up, whereas the observation group received additional remote Internet follow-up for 6 months after discharge from the hospital. The treatment effects and compliance were investigated using a questionnaire.
Results: At 3 months and 6 months after discharge, patients in the observation group had sought significantly more consultations and undergone more periodic re-examinations than patients in the control group (all p<0.001). Furthermore, both the disease-free survival rate and the symptom reduction rate were significantly higher in the observation group compared with the control group (all p<0.001).
Conclusions: Remote Internet follow-up is an easy and fast method for improving postradiotherapy compliance with medical instructions and promoting normalization among patients with esophageal cancer.
Keywords: compliance; esophageal cancer; follow-up; radiotherapy; remote Internet; telemedicine.