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Annals of Surgical Oncology
Published in: Annals of Surgical Oncology 5/2016

01-12-2016 | Colorectal Cancer

Variation in Hospital-Specific Rates of Suboptimal Lymphadenectomy and Survival in Colon Cancer: Evidence from the National Cancer Data Base

Authors: Adan Z. Becerra, BA, Mariana E. Berho, MD, Christian P. Probst, MD, MPH, Christopher T. Aquina, MD, MPH, Mohamedtaki A. Tejani, MD, Maynor G. Gonzalez, PhD, Zhaomin Xu, MD, Alex A. Swanger, BA, Katia Noyes, PhD, MPH, John R. Monson, MD, Fergal J. Fleming, MD

Published in: Annals of Surgical Oncology | Special Issue 5/2016

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Abstract

Background

Little is known about between-hospital differences in the rate of suboptimal lymphadenectomy. This study characterizes variation in hospital-specific rates of suboptimal lymphadenectomy and its effect on overall survival in a national hospital-based registry.

Methods

Stage I–III colon cancer patients were identified from the 2003–2012 National Cancer Data Base. Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models were used to assess the impact of patient- and hospital-level factors on hospital-specific rates of suboptimal lymphadenectomy (<12 lymph nodes), and multilevel Cox models were used to estimate the effect of suboptimal lymphadenectomy at the patient (yes vs. no) and hospital level (quartiles of hospital-specific rates) on overall survival.

Results

A total of 360,846 patients across 1345 hospitals in the US met the inclusion criteria, of which 25 % had a suboptimal lymphadenectomy. Wide variation was observed in hospital-specific rates of suboptimal lymphadenectomy (range 0–82 %, median 44 %). Older age, male sex, comorbidity score, no insurance, positive margins, lower tumor grade, lower T and N stage, and sigmoid and left colectomy were associated with higher odds of suboptimal lymphadenectomy. Patients treated at lower-volume and non-academic hospitals had higher odds of suboptimal lymphadenectomy. Patient- and hospital-level factors explained 5 % of the between-hospital variability in suboptimal lymphadenectomy, leaving 95 % unexplained. Higher suboptimal lymphadenectomy rates were associated with worse survival (quartile 4 vs. quartile 1: hazard ratio 1.19, 95 % confidence interval 1.16–1.22).

Conclusion

Large differences in hospital-specific rates of suboptimal lymphadenectomy were observed, and this variation was associated with survival. Quality improvement initiatives targeting hospital-level adherence to the national standard may improve overall survival among resected colon cancer patients.
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Metadata
Title
Variation in Hospital-Specific Rates of Suboptimal Lymphadenectomy and Survival in Colon Cancer: Evidence from the National Cancer Data Base
Authors
Adan Z. Becerra, BA
Mariana E. Berho, MD
Christian P. Probst, MD, MPH
Christopher T. Aquina, MD, MPH
Mohamedtaki A. Tejani, MD
Maynor G. Gonzalez, PhD
Zhaomin Xu, MD
Alex A. Swanger, BA
Katia Noyes, PhD, MPH
John R. Monson, MD
Fergal J. Fleming, MD
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Annals of Surgical Oncology / Issue Special Issue 5/2016
Print ISSN: 1068-9265
Electronic ISSN: 1534-4681
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-016-5551-2

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