What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate national trends and predictors of waiting times from cancer diagnosis to the initiation of first-course therapy among patients undergoing definitive surgical resection.

August 14, 2026JAMA Surgery

National Trends and Predictors of Waiting Times for Cancer Surgery in the US

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

To evaluate national trends and predictors of waiting times from cancer diagnosis to the initiation of first-course therapy among patients undergoing definitive surgical resection.
Retrospective cohort study of 2,731,059 patients with nonmetastatic clinical stage I through III breast, colon, lung, pancreatic, gastric, or esophageal cancer in the US National Cancer Database from 2012 to 2023.
Assessed time from diagnosis to first-course therapy (up-front surgery or neoadjuvant therapy prior to surgery) and identified factors linked to prolonged (≥30 days) or extreme (≥60 days) delays.
From 2012–2015 to 2022–2023, median waiting times increased across all evaluated cancers: breast (34 to 45 days), colon (20 to 31 days), lung (41 to 53 days), pancreas (23 to 32 days), gastric (35 to 49 days), and esophageal (38 to 48 days; P < .001 for all trends).
Predictors of longer wait times included treatment at academic institutions (6 of 6 cancers), West region care (6 of 6), lowest-quartile income (6 of 6), Medicaid coverage (5 of 6), Black race (5 of 6), greater travel distance (4 of 6), and robotic operations (5 of 5 nonbreast cancers).

Discussion

No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.

Implication

Cohort study reveals increasing delays from diagnosis to initial therapy in patients undergoing cancer surgery, highlighting the need for systemic strategies to reduce surgical wait times.

Cite This Study

Sakowitz et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7ec7aab70b84ec8b914394 https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2026.3212

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Implication

Cohort study reveals increasing delays from diagnosis to initial therapy in patients undergoing cancer surgery, highlighting the need for systemic strategies to reduce surgical wait times.

National Trends and Predictors of Waiting Times for Cancer Surgery in the US

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

National Trends and Predictors of Waiting Times for Cancer Surgery in the US

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider