Impact of socioeconomic deprivation on short-term outcomes and long-term overall survival after colorectal resection for cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of socioeconomic deprivation on short-term outcomes and long-term overall survival following major resection of colorectal cancer (CRC) at a tertiary hospital in England.

Method: This was an observational cohort study of patients undergoing resection for colorectal cancer from January 2010 to December 2017. Deprivation was classified into quintiles using the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2010. Primary outcome was overall complications (Clavien-Dindo grades 1 to 5). Secondary outcomes were the major complications (Clavien-Dindo 3 to 5), length of hospital stay and overall survival. Outcomes were compared between most affluent group and most deprived group. Multivariate regression models were used to establish the relationship taking into account confounding variables.

Results: One thousand eight hundred thirty-five patients were included. Overall and major complication rates were 44.9% and 11.5% respectively in the most affluent, and 54.6% and 15.6% in the most deprived group. Most deprived group was associated with higher overall complications (odds ratio 1.48, 95% CI 1.13-1.95, p = 0.005), higher major complications (odds ratio 1.49, 1.01-2.23, p = 0.048) and longer hospital stay (adjusted ratio 1.15, 1.06-1.25, p < 0.001) when compared with most affluent group. Median follow period was 41 months (interquartile range 20-64.5). Most deprived group had poor overall survival compared with most affluent, but it was not significant at the 5% level (hazard ratio 1.27, 0.99-1.62, p = 0.055).

Conclusion: Deprivation was associated with higher postoperative complications and longer hospital stay following major resection for CRC. Its relationship with survival was not statistically significant.