Factors Affecting Time to Surgery in Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

Background: We sought to determine factors affecting time to surgery (TTS) to identify potential modifiable factors to improve timeliness of care. Methods: Patients with clinical stage 0-3 breast cancer undergoing partial mastectomy in 2 clinical trials, conducted in ten centers across the US, were analyzed. No preoperative workup was mandated by the study; those receiving neoadjuvant therapy were excluded. Results: The median TTS among the 583 patients in this cohort was 34 days (range: 1-289). Patient age, race, tumor palpability, and genomic subtype did not influence timeliness of care defined as TTS ≤30 days. Hispanic patients less likely to have a TTS ≤30 days (P =.001). There was significant variation in TTS by surgeon (P