The development of existing follow-up strategies is mainly based on experts' consensus and researches on recurrence patterns due to the lack of direct evidence and unified standards. On the one hand, it is unreasonable to carry out the same postoperative surveillance for all G-NEC patients. In addition to the early detection of recurrence, the optimal follow-up strategy should also balance cost and effectiveness. There were no criteria for the arrangement of follow-up in different guidelines, and the optimal postoperative follow-up strategy for patients with G-NEC remains unclear. Patients with G-NEC from 21 centers in China were included. Cost-effectiveness were assessed by Markov model.
Due to lacking of evidence on surveillance for gastric neuroendocrine carcinoma (G-NEC), this study aimed to determine the optimal postsurgical surveillance strategy for G-NEC patients and compare its cost-effectiveness with traditional surveillance strategies.