http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/c...full/102/7/456
Interesting article, mostly about how some oligometastatic disease might be appropriate for aggressive treatment with intent to cure. This paragraph, from their conclusions section, seems like a "considerable" understatement. (I want to see that separate manuscript about follow-up - they have taken on a big job.)
"The clinical consequences of confirming this hypothesis would
be considerable. First, it would suggest that a selected subset
of MBC patients should be approached with curative, not palliative,
intent. Second, the current minimalistic postoperative monitoring
should be revised to allow early diagnosis of low-burden disease
relapse. The crucial issue of follow-up and its consequences
will be addressed in detail by the Task Force in a separate
manuscript. As a consequence, a rigorous economic evaluation
would also be required to calculate the cost to benefit ratio
and the assessment of personal and social impact of this shift
in the management of MBC patients."