Time from surgery to first adjuvant chemotherapy: Experiences at two Toronto hospitals.

e17557 Background: Optimal treatment of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) includes the timely administration of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC). While Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) guidelines advise that CRC patients receive their first AC no later than 8 weeks after surgical resection, new data suggests treatment should begin between 4 and 6 weeks. This retrospective study was performed to determine the treatment times and identify barriers at two Toronto hospitals: St. Michael’s Hospital (SMH) and Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH). Methods: Of all 797 patients diagnosed with CRC between January 1, 2005 and April 30, 2012 at SMH and MSH, 483 patients did not meet eligibility criteria. Thus, our sample population of 314 patients had stage II or III CRC, and received both surgical resection and AC at each respective hospital. Data collected included: time from surgery to first AC, patient demographics, and systemic/clinical barriers. Data was analyzed using statistical methods in Excel, assuming p-values <0.05 as sign...