TY - JOUR
T1 - Hospital variation in sphincter preservation for elderly rectal cancer patients
AU - Dodgion, Christopher M.
AU - Neville, Bridget A.
AU - Lipsitz, Stuart R.
AU - Schrag, Deborah
AU - Breen, Elizabeth
AU - Zinner, Michael J.
AU - Greenberg, Caprice C.
N1 - Funding Information:
Sources of support: American Surgical Association Foundation Fellowship (C.C.G.); NIH/NCI T32 CA009535-23 (C.M.D.); and Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Surgery and Public Health Postdoctoral Cabot Fellowship (C.M.D.).
PY - 2014/9
Y1 - 2014/9
N2 - Background The primary goal of an operation for rectal cancer is to cure cancer and, where possible, preserve continence. A wide range of sphincter preservation rates have been reported. This study evaluated hospital variation in the use of low anterior resection (LAR), local excision (LE), and abdominoperineal resection (APR) in the treatment of elderly rectal cancer patients. Methods Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare linked data, we identified 4959 patients older than 65 y with stage I-III rectal cancer diagnosed from 2000-2005 who underwent operative intervention at one of 370 hospitals. We evaluated the distribution of hospital-specific procedure rates and used generalized mixed models with random hospital effects to examine the influence of patient characteristics and hospital on operation type, using APR as a reference. Results The median hospital performed APR on 33% of elderly patients with rectal cancer. Hospital was a stronger predictor of LAR receipt than any patient characteristic, explaining 32% of procedure choice, but not a strong predictor of LE, explaining only 3.8%. Receipt of LE was primarily related to tumor size and tumor stage, which combined explained 31% of procedure variation. Conclusions Receipt of LE is primarily determined by patient characteristics. In contrast, the hospital where surgery is performed significantly influences whether a patient undergoes an LAR or APR. Understanding the factors that cause this institutional variation is crucial to ensuring equitable availability of sphincter preservation.
AB - Background The primary goal of an operation for rectal cancer is to cure cancer and, where possible, preserve continence. A wide range of sphincter preservation rates have been reported. This study evaluated hospital variation in the use of low anterior resection (LAR), local excision (LE), and abdominoperineal resection (APR) in the treatment of elderly rectal cancer patients. Methods Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare linked data, we identified 4959 patients older than 65 y with stage I-III rectal cancer diagnosed from 2000-2005 who underwent operative intervention at one of 370 hospitals. We evaluated the distribution of hospital-specific procedure rates and used generalized mixed models with random hospital effects to examine the influence of patient characteristics and hospital on operation type, using APR as a reference. Results The median hospital performed APR on 33% of elderly patients with rectal cancer. Hospital was a stronger predictor of LAR receipt than any patient characteristic, explaining 32% of procedure choice, but not a strong predictor of LE, explaining only 3.8%. Receipt of LE was primarily related to tumor size and tumor stage, which combined explained 31% of procedure variation. Conclusions Receipt of LE is primarily determined by patient characteristics. In contrast, the hospital where surgery is performed significantly influences whether a patient undergoes an LAR or APR. Understanding the factors that cause this institutional variation is crucial to ensuring equitable availability of sphincter preservation.
KW - Elderly
KW - Hospital variation
KW - Rectal cancer
KW - Sphincter sparing surgery
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jss.2014.03.047
DO - 10.1016/j.jss.2014.03.047
M3 - Article
C2 - 24750983
AN - SCOPUS:84906227108
SN - 0022-4804
VL - 191
SP - 161
EP - 168
JO - Journal of Surgical Research
JF - Journal of Surgical Research
IS - 1
ER -