Dr. Katherine Van Loon on Monitoring Recurrences in Gastrointestinal Cancers

Katherine Van Loon, MD, gastrointestinal cancer specialist, University of California, San Francisco, discusses identifying recurrences in gastrointestinal cancers at a point where patients can receive further therapy.

Van Loon says that oncologists need further research into how often and for how long patients with gastrointestinal cancers should be monitored. She adds that current guidelines state that patients should be followed up on for approximately five years, though recurrences have happened as far out as 10 years.