Impact of preoperative wait time on survival in patients with clinical stage II/III gastric cancer

BackgroundPreoperative wait time is affected by various factors, and a certain time is needed before surgery. There is a concern that cancer treatment delay can lead to poor survival. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of preoperative wait time on survival in patients with clinical stage (cStage) II/III gastric cancer.MethodsThe study included patients with cStage II/III primary gastric cancer undergoing surgery between 2002 and 2012. Preoperative wait time was defined as the time from endoscopy for initial diagnosis to surgery. Patients were divided into the following three groups according to wait time: short wait group (30days), intermediate wait group (>30 and 60days), and long wait group (>60 and 90days). Patient characteristics and survival were compared among the groups.ResultsThis study included 467 male (67%) and 229 female (33%) patients, and the median patient age was 67years. The numbers of cStage II and III patients were 332 (48%) and 364 (52%), respectively. The median wait time was 45days. The body mass index was lower in the short wait group than in the other groups. A shorter wait time tended to be associated with a more advanced cStage. Although survival was significantly worse in the short wait group than in the long wait group, wait time was not identified as an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis.ConclusionPreoperative wait time up to 90days does not affect survival in patients with cStage II/III gastric cancer.