Does Delaying Curative Surgery for Colorectal Cancer Influence Long-term Disease Free Survival.

Overview

This work is an original clinical research article describing the relationship between wait list tome for colorectal cancer patients and long-term survival. These findings are particularly relevant for management of surgical wait lists during crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic. The lack of a relationship between wait list time and disease free survival and tendency for improved survival in the 4-6 week imply some colorectal cancer operations can be safely delayed during times of limited resources.

Background Surgical wait list time is a major problem in many health-care systems and its influence on survival is unclear. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of the wait list time on long term disease-free survival in patients scheduled for colorectal cancer resection. Materials and Methods A prospective, single center study was carried out in patients with stage I-III colorectal cancer scheduled for surgery between 2012-2017 at a Colorectal Surgery Unit of a tertiary care center. Wait list time was defined as the time from completion of diagnostic workup and definitive surgery and divided into 2-week intervals from 2 to 6 weeks. The outcome variables were 2- and 5-year disease free survival. Screening for disease progression was with carcinoembryonic antigen levels and chest/abdominal computed tomography scan. Data was collected prospectively and subsequently analyzed.

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