Colorectal liver metastases management in the Veterans Health Administration: Geographic disparity.

2016 
694 Background: Multidisciplinary management including surgical resection of Colorectal Liver Metastases (CLM) offers the greatest chance of long-term survival. We aimed to study surgical intervention types, rates and factors affecting the decision making in the Veterans Health Administration. Methods: The Veterans Affairs Central Cancer Registry (VACCR) and VA Informatics & Computing Infrastructure (VINCI) were queried and linked to retrospectively analyze stage IV CLM from 10/01/2004-12/31/2012. Cohort construction and statistical analyses were performed utilizing SQL Server, SAS software, version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) and Microsoft Excel. Results: We identified 118 VA stations and 1245 subjects meeting the inclusion criteria. Hemicolectomy was identified in 79%, (637) and 21 % (168) liver metastatectomy. Open versus laparoscopic hemicolectomy was 87.96% and 12.04% respectively. Follow-up imaging post metastatic disease diagnosis was carried in 88.9% (1,108) subjects. Immense variation in t...
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