Follow up

Many trials of serious illness are conducted to see if a treatment can prevent or delay the occurrence of a major event (eg death, recurrence of cancer, etc.). Such studies usually require long-term follow up. Even when a trial is closed to patient entry (ie when the required number of patients have been recruited), follow up continues.

In trials of childhood cancer, where many children are now surviving many years after treatment, follow up in the centre is carried out indefinitely in order to assess the long-term effects, if any, of treatment. Routine collection of follow up data by the trials unit will usually continue for a defined period (ie 10 years). After that time period it is more likely that specific late effects studies will be conducted in a particular patient population.

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