Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026
Implementation of a Real-Time Psychosis Risk Detection and Alerting System Based on Electronic Health Records using CogStack
Published on: May 15, 2020
Time to Surgery Following Short-Course Radiotherapy in Rectal Cancer and its Impact on Postoperative Outcomes. A
B A Levick1, A J Gilbert2, K L Spencer3
1Leeds Institute for Data Analytics, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St James's, School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Aims:
Preoperative short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) is an important treatment option for rectal cancer. The length of time between completing SCRT and surgery may influence postoperative outcomes, but the evidence available to determine the optimal interval is limited and often conflicting.
Materials And Methods:
Information was extracted from a colorectal cancer data repository (CORECT-R) on all surgically treated rectal cancer patients who received SCRT in the English National Health Service between April 2009 and December 2014. The time from radiotherapy to surgery was described across the population. Thirty-day postoperative mortality, returns to theatre, length of stay and 1-year survival were investigated in relation to the interval between radiotherapy and surgery.
Results:
Within the cohort of 3469 patients, the time to surgery was 0-7 days for 76% of patients, 8-14 days for 19% of patients and 15-27 days for 5% of patients. There was a clear variation in relation to different patient characteristics. There was, however, no evidence of differences in postoperative outcomes in relation to interval length.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that the time interval between SCRT and surgery does not influence postoperative outcomes up to a year after surgery. The study provides population-level, real-world evidence to complement that from clinical trials.
Related Concept Videos
07:31Implementation of a Real-Time Psychosis Risk Detection and Alerting System Based on Electronic Health Records using CogStack
03:19Modifying Levels of Maternal Dietary Folic Acid or Choline to Study the Impact of Deficiencies on Offspring Health Outcomes
07:20Dried Blood Spot Collection of Health Biomarkers to Maximize Participation in Population Studies
05:18Radiation Planning Assistant - A Web-based Tool to Support High-quality Radiotherapy in Clinics with Limited Resources
06:40An In Vivo Mouse Model of Total Intravenous Anesthesia During Cancer Resection Surgery
06:55Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (Propensity Score) using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index