Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Accept all cookies Reject all non-essential cookies Find out more

Time to surgery following short-course radiotherapy in rectal cancer and its impact on post-operative outcomes

What was the study about?

Short course radiotherapy (SCRT) before an operation is an effective treatment for rectal cancer. Previous studies have shown that it reduces the risk of the disease returning in the same location. The recommended gap between completing SCRT and having surgery varies widely, with some studies suggesting that it should be less than four days. This study examined the time between SCRT and surgery and related it to post-operative outcomes up to a year after surgery.

What did we do?

Information was obtained on all rectal cancer patients who underwent surgery and received SCRT in the English NHS between April 2009-December 2014. Post-operative outcomes such as thirty day post-operative mortality, returns to theatre, length of stay and one year survival were investigated in relation to the amount of time between SCRT and surgery. Patients who had a gap of over 27 days were not included in the study.

What did we find?

The study found that although the majority of patients were operated on within seven days of SCRT, there was huge variation across the English NHS. The study did not find any associations between time to surgery following SCRT and surgical outcome.

Acknowledgements

This work involves patient-level information collected by the NHS that has either been provided by, or derived from, patients as part of their care and support. The data are collated, maintained and quality assured by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, which is part of Public Health England (PHE). Access to the data was facilitated by the PHE Office for Data Release. The data used for this study are available from the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service via the PHE Office for Data Release, subject to relevant approvals. This work was supported by the Bobby Moore Fund/Cancer Research UK (grant number C23434/A23706) and Yorkshire Cancer Research (grant number L394). It was underpinned by the Leeds MRC Medical Bioinformatics Centre (grant number MR/L01629X/1). This study was approved by the South West – Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee (ref 18/SW/0134).