Thoracic cancer surgeries

In 2005, Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) released Thoracic Surgical Oncology Standards. These standards were aimed at providing the best level of care for those undergoing thoracic surgery and encompass surgeon training, hospital ancillary services and minimum volume thresholds for surgeries of the lung and esophagus. The objective of the current study was to explore variations in thoracic cancer surgical volumes at the hospital level across Canada. Using data from the Discharge Abstract Database for 2007-2008, the cohort included patients admitted to hospital with a most responsible diagnosis of cancer and who had a lung or esophageal surgery. To determine the volume of surgeries performed per facility, we grouped patients according to the hospital facility performing the surgery. In Canada (excluding Quebec and Prince Edward Island), there were a total 4,509 lung and 587 esophageal cancer procedures performed in 94 hospitals in 2007-2008. For both types of surgeries, Ontario hospitals performed approximately half of the procedures. Overall, 12 hospitals performed at or over the volume of surgeries for lung cancer as indentified by the CCO standards, while 10 did so for esophageal cancer. Nine hospitals performed both lung and esophageal cancer surgeries at or over the suggested volumes. Higher volumes of lung and esophageal cancer-related surgeries have been associated with improved patient outcomes. Here we present a snapshot of the distribution of cancer-related lung and esophageal surgeries across Canada (excluding Quebec and Prince Edward Island).