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In oncology, patient surveillance after treatment has several aims:

In the immediate post-treatment period:

• To precisely evaluate the immediate treatment efficiency (in this context, precise follow-up of tumour markers is of major interest),
  
• To harmoniously adjust the various techniques within a multidisciplinary approach,
  
• To quickly detect the main treatment complications (iatrogenic complications) and find possible efficient corrective measures,
  
• To prevent late sequelae by early and adapted measures.

After initial treatment:

• To precisely evaluate the long term efficiency of the therapeutic sequence,
  
• To diagnose chronic toxicity, in order to diminish its seriousness for the patient, but also to confirm the pertinence of the performed therapeutic scheme or to define preventive measures to avoid such toxicity,
  
• To detect relapse as soon as possible, insofar as an efficient treatment may be applied.

From a more general point of view:

To obtain precise knowledge on the therapeutic results of each protocol,

• Either when used as standard treatment (technique improvement, improved physician knowledge, continuous quality control of techniques),
  
• Or when used within the context of a clinical trial.

It is clear that cancer patient surveillance is of interest for two reasons:

• A personal interest in the patient for whom each physician has taken on the responsibility: for instance, preventing complications, detecting relapse. This point of view is generally well understood by all physicians, because it embraces our traditional ethics.
  
• A more collective interest for the improvement of techniques and knowledge. This point of view is often misunderstood, especially in the context of individual