Some patients will have recurrent disease on initial presentation. Others may present with symptoms of recurrent disease after a previous cancer diagnosis. Access to the best available therapies, including clinical trials, as well as treatment overseen by a multidisciplinary team, are crucial to achieving the best outcomes for anyone with recurrent disease.

Signs and symptoms will depend on the type of cancer initially diagnosed and the location of recurrent disease. They may be discovered by the patient or by surveillance in the post-treatment period. Recurrence may be asymptomatic or have non-specific symptoms. It should be detected by routine surveillance protocols that are applied to people who have colorectal cancer.