Time to surgery and overall survival after breast cancer diagnosis in a universal health system.

Abstract

e12063 Background: It is unclear whether time between breast cancer diagnosis and surgical treatment is associated with survival. In the general U.S. population, timing of treatment and clinical outcomes may be related to access to care. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between time-to-surgery (TTS) and overall survival among women with a breast cancer diagnosis in the universal-access U.S. Military Health System (MHS). Methods: Women aged 18-64 who had a pathologic diagnosis of stages I-III breast cancer between 1998 and 2007 and who received breast cancer surgery during the primary course of treatment were identified in the Department of Defense’s Central Cancer Registry and MHS Data Repository linked databases containing records through December 31, 2008. The time in days between diagnosis and breast cancer surgery was calculated as TTS. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazards ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of all-cause death associated with TTS intervals of 0 days (diagnosis and surgery on the same day), 1-21 days (≤3 weeks), 22-35 days ( > 3-5 weeks), and 36 days or more ( > 5 weeks), controlling for potential confounders. Results: Women (n = 6,033) had a mean age of 50.1 (SD 9.3) years at diagnosis and an average follow-up of 3.8 (SD 2.1) years. The multivariable HRs (95% CIs) of all-cause death associated with TTS intervals were 1.26 (0.97, 1.63) for 0 days, 1.22 (0.94, 1.57) for 22-35 days, and 1.55 (1.18, 2.03) for ≥36 days compared to 1-21 days as the reference. The higher risk of mortality for TTS ≥36 days was observed among patient subgroups stratified by surgery type, age at diagnosis, and tumor stage. It was also shown that women with same-day surgery (TTS 0 days) had a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to the reference group among those age 18-49 at diagnosis (HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.03, 2.26). Conclusions: In the MHS, we found that longer TTS is associated with poorer overall survival after breast cancer while same-day surgery may also have a higher risk of mortality in some patient groups. Our findings suggest the importance of timeliness in receiving surgical treatment and the need for future research on factors related to TTS and its potential effects on clinical outcomes.