LAUSR

Background The objective of this study was to determine if there is an impact of surgical delay on 5-year overall survival (OS) from early stage colon cancer, and if so, to define how long surgery can safely be postponed. Methods Using the NCDB, we compared early (14–30 days) and delayed surgery (31–90 days) in patients with Stage I/II colon cancer. Outcomes included OS at five years and odds of death. Results Delayed resection conferred a decreased 5-year OS of 73.0% (95% CI, 72.6–73.4), compared to early resection 78.3% (95% CI, 77.9–78.8). When time to surgery was divided into one-week intervals, there was no difference in the odds of death with delay up to 35–41 days (6 weeks), but odds of death increased by 9% per week thereafter. Conclusions These data support that definitive resection for early stage colon cancer may be safely delayed up to 6 weeks.