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Updated: May 31, 2025
Subcostal Specimen Removal in Completely Portal Robotic Lobectomy
Published on: April 19, 2024
Residential Distance to the Cancer Center and Outcomes after Robotic-Assisted Pulmonary Lobectomy
Allison O Dumitriu Carcoana1, Jenna C Marek1, William J West1
1Department of Medical Education, University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA.
Background:
Outcomes of lung cancer patients traveling greater distances for surgical oncology care are not well-described. We investigated the effects of increased travel burden after robotic-assisted pulmonary lobectomy (RAPL) for lung cancer.
Methods:
Clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of 711 consecutive patients who underwent RAPL from September 2010 to March 2022 were compared, stratified by primary residential ZIP code <160 km or ≥160 km from the cancer center.
Results:
Of 711 study patients, 515 (72.4%) lived within 160 km and 196 (27.6%) lived ≥160 km away. There were no differences in Charlson Comorbidity Index scores or tumor characteristics. Those traveling ≥160 km experienced more unfavorable perioperative outcomes and postoperative complications, and had worse median survival time by 1.68 years, but this survival difference did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusions:
With the growing centralization of cancer care, travel burden may emerge as a predictor of surgical oncology outcomes.
