The I CARE study was initiated in 2015 in response to increasing numbers of patients with colon cancer, growing strains on health-care services, and calls for other and more tailored survivorship care strategies. We hypothesized that general practitioner (GP) involvement and the use of a supporting eHealth application (called Oncokompas) could improve survivorship care for colon cancer patients, resulting in improved quality of life recovery.

In this study, patients who were surgically treated for colon cancer (stages I-III) were allocated to receive survivorship care by a GP or a surgeon, with or without access to Oncokompas. The first year results of the I CARE study have just been published in the Lancet Oncology. The I CARE study will continue up to the end of 2023.

Within the first year after colon cancer surgery, there were no important differences in quality of life recovery between patients who received survivorship care by a GP or a surgeon. Access to Oncokompas did not affect quality of life. However, since the use of Oncokompas was relatively low in this study, it was difficult to draw any conclusions about its effectiveness.

With respect to quality of life, survivorship care by a GP can be considered as an alternative to hospital-based care for patients with colon cancer within the first year after surgery. Other outcomes, such as patient and physician preferences, will therefore be important when making decisions about the type of survivorship care. We are currently exploring patients’ and physicians’ experiences with the I CARE study to provide further evidence on these interventions.

Read full article in the Lancet Oncology.