The impact of wait times on oncological outcome in high‐risk patients with endometrial cancer
Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the impact of surgical wait times on outcome of patients with grade 3 endometrial cancer.
Methods
All consecutive patients surgically treated for grade 3 endometrial cancer between 2007 and 2015 were included. Patients were divided into two groups based on the time interval between endometrial biopsy and surgery: wait time from biopsy to surgery ≤12 weeks (84 days) vs more than 12 weeks. Survival analyses were conducted using log‐rank tests and Cox proportional hazards models.
Results
A total of 136 patients with grade 3 endometrial cancer were followed for a median of 5.6 years. Fifty‐one women (37.5%) waited more than 12 weeks for surgery. Prolonged surgical wait times were not associated with advanced stage at surgery, positive lymph nodes, increased lymphovascular space invasion, and tumor size (P = .8, P = 1.0, P = .2, P = .9, respectively). In multivariable analysis adjusted for clinical and pathological factors, wait times did not significantly affect disease‐specific survival (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 1.2, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.6‐2.5, P = .6), overall survival (HR: 1.1, 95% CI, 0.6‐2.1, P = .7), or progression‐free survival (HR: 0.9, 95% CI, 0.5‐1.7, P = .8).
Conclusion
Prolonged surgical wait time for poorly differentiated endometrial cancer seemed to have a limited impact on clinical outcomes compared to biological factors.