Study: Rectal Cancer Patients Fare Better at High-Volume Hospitals

Rectal cancer patients who undergo surgery at high-volume hospitals have better survival rates and are less likely to have a permanent colostomy, according to Harvard Medical School researchers.

Analyzing data from more than 7,000 patients who underwent surgery for rectal cancer, the researchers found that patients treated at the lowest volume hospitals were 2.64 times more likely to die within 30 days of surgery, 28 percent more likely to die within 2 years, and 37 percent more likely to receive a permanent colostomy.

When the rectum is removed, the surgeon performs a colostomy to attach the colon to a new opening in the abdomen for stool to pass through called a stoma. A temporary colostomy may be performed when part of the colon has been removed and the rest of it needs to heal.

The risk of a permanent colostomy increased steadily as the number of rectal cancer surgeries decreased, according to the researchers, ranging from 29.5 percent for hospitals performing more than 20 rectal cancer operations per year to 36.6 percent for those performing fewer than seven.

In an editorial that accompanied the report on the study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Thomas J. Smith. of Virginia Commonwealth University said it is "time now to ask providers to provide data on their outcomes, so that patients and payers can make an informed choice that is based on outcomes rather than on reputation or convenience."

Other Sources: Journal of the National Cancer Institute