Cancer Surgery Wait Times Rise Over Decade, Study Finds

Wait times for cancer surgery have increased significantly over the past decade, with patients now facing substantially longer delays between diagnosis and the start of their first course of treatment, according to a new study. The research, published in JAMA Surgery, analyzed data from more than 2.7 million patients and found that median wait times for six common cancers rose steadily from 2012 to 2023, raising concerns about access to timely care in a system known for medical innovation.

The study, led by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, examined records from the National Cancer Database for patients with nonmetastatic stage I to III breast, colon, lung, pancreatic, gastric, or esophageal cancer who were eligible for surgery at diagnosis. The findings showed a consistent upward trend across all cancer types. For breast cancer, the median time from diagnosis to first treatment increased from 34 days to 45 days. For colon cancer, it rose from 20 to 31 days. Lung cancer waits grew from 41 to 53 days, pancreatic from 23 to 32 days, gastric from 35 to 49 days, and esophageal from 38 to 48 days. All trends were statistically significant.