Outcomes after right hemicolectomy for ascending colon cancer: A comparison of academic versus community hospitals.

INTRODUCTION

The impact of hospital type on outcomes after ascending colon cancer surgery is not well-defined. We sought to compare outcomes after right hemicolectomy between academic versus community hospitals.

METHODS

The National Cancer Database was used to evaluate patients between 2010 and 2022, who underwent a right hemicolectomy for colon cancer. A 1:1 propensity score match using 13 variables was performed. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to evaluate overall survival, and adjusted analysis was performed with multivariable, Cox proportional hazard models.

RESULTS

A total of 253,071 patients were included in the analysis. After matching, 65,049 patients were included in each cohort. Academic hospitals had a longer median overall survival of 8 months compared to community hospitals (p < 0.001), and a lower risk of mortality (HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.91 - 0.94, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Academic institutions had a survival benefit even after matching patient factors, disease characteristics, and hospital volume.