Background: In the Netherlands, the Total Mesorectal Excision (TME) surgical technique for rectal cancer was introduced together with pre-operative radiotherapy in a quality controlled manner within the framework of the TME trial (1996-1999). The aim of this study is to examine the effects of the structural changes in rectal cancer care on survival compared to colon cancer for patients treated before, during and after the TME trial.
Method: We compared overall survival of all patients with curatively resected colon (n = 15,266) and rectal cancer (n = 5839) in the regions of Comprehensive Cancer Centres South and West between 1990 and 2005, adjusting for prognostic variables.
Results: In the pre-trial period, rectal cancer had a significant lower survival compared to colon cancer (HR 1.248, P < 0.01). However, in the post-trial period, survival after rectal cancer was similar to colon cancer (HR 0.987, n.s.).
Conclusion: Although survival improved significantly for both colon and rectal cancer in the last 15 years, the substantially worse results after rectal cancer have been eliminated. This study shows the lasting effects that structural surgical training and quality assurance can have on survival outcome.
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