Background
Among patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma, patient race has been associated with
differences in colorectal cancer survival. Survival disparities between ethnic groups
may be related to treatment delays, treating hospital, or other patient factors. We
hypothesized that prolonged interval to delivery of cancer therapy negatively impacts
survival.
Study Design
We designed a retrospective cohort study using tumor registry and clinical database
information from two academically affiliated hospitals. We examined factors associated
with interval to treatment and associations between interval and overall survival.
Results
Among 592 patients treated by a cohort of physicians, we found no differences in cancer
stage related to race or treating hospital. Interval to treatment differed between
different hospitals (29 vs 16 days; P < .0001); yet, there were no differences in overall survival related to treatment
interval, treating hospital, race, or insurance status. Tumor grade and tumor stage
were associated with decreased overall survival.
Conclusion
Differences exist related to the timing of definitive care for patients in this series;
however, these differences do not translate directly into differences in overall survival.
We must deliver quality health care in an efficient and timely manner; however, the
metric of interval to treatment may not measure reliably the quality of care received.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
April 24,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2013 Mosby, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
