Longer waiting times for patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery are not associated with decreased survival

Abstract

Wait times are a growing concern in Canada's publicly-funded healthcare system. We sought to determine if increased wait times for colorectal cancer (CRC) treatments resulted in worse outcomes. A population-based retrospective cohort analysis of wait times for CRC patients undergoing major surgical resections in Manitoba, Canada, between 2004 and 2006 was undertaken. Administrative records were utilized to estimate total wait time (TWT), defined as the sum of time from index contact with the healthcare system to diagnosis of CRC (diagnostic wait time [DWT]) and the time from diagnosis to first cancer treatment (treatment wait time [TxWT]). Multivariate Cox regression analysis of 5-year overall survival was performed to determine the effect of TWT quartiles on survival. One thousand six hundred twenty eight patients with stage I-IV CRC underwent major surgery with a median TWT of 95 days. Predictors of lower 5-year survival included advanced age, higher stage, lower economic status, increased medical comorbidity, urgent presentation, living between 101 and 500 km from the Provincial cancer center, and not receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. After controlling for these variables, TWT quartiles were not associated with survival (P = 0.4898). On a population basis, increased TWT was not associated with worse survival, while controlling for important confounders.