Impact of time to surgery in locally advanced rectal cancer patients.

719Background: Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) undergo surgery at 6-8 weeks after neoadjuvant chemoradiation based on standard protocol. However, the optimal time to undergo surgery remains debatable. The goal of this study was to identify associations between time to surgery and additional variables with overall survival (OS) and recurrence rates in LARC patients. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for 80 LARC patients with T3 or node positive disease, who have undergone neoadjuvant chemoradiation and surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital from January 1st 2005-December 31st 2015. Patients were divided into 4 groups based on time to surgery: 4-6 weeks (group 1), 6-8 weeks (group 2), 8-10 weeks (group 3), and > 10 weeks (group 4). Cox proportional hazards model was used to find associations with recurrence and OS. Results: Of the 80 patients, 67.5% (n = 54) were male and 32.5% (n = 26) were female. Median age at diagnosis was 59 years (range, 28-80 years). Median follow-up ...