Unwarranted clinical variation in healthcare impacts access, productivity, performance, and outcomes. A strategy proposed for reducing unwarranted clinical variation is to ensure that population-based data describing the current state of health care services are available to clinicians and healthcare decision-makers. The objective of this study was to measure variation in colorectal cancer surgical treatment patterns and surgical quality in Manitoba and identify areas for improvement. This descriptive study included individuals aged 20 years or older who were diagnosed with invasive cancer (adenocarcinoma) of the colon or rectum between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014. Laparoscopic surgery was higher in colon cancer (24.1%) compared to rectal cancer (13.6%). For colon cancer, the percentage of laparoscopic surgery ranged from 12.9% to 29.2%, with significant differences by regional health authority (RHA) of surgery. In 86.1% of colon cancers, ≥12 lymph nodes were removed. In Manitoba, the negative circumferential resection margin for rectal cancers was 96.9%, and ranged from 96.0% to 100.0% between RHAs. The median time between first colonoscopy and resection was 40 days for individuals with colon cancer. This study showed that high-quality colorectal cancer surgery is being conducted in Manitoba along with some variation and gaps in quality. As a result of this work, a formal structure for ongoing measuring and reporting surgical quality has been established in Manitoba. Quality improvement initiatives have been implemented based on these findings and periodic assessments of colorectal cancer surgery quality will continue.
Keywords: cancer surgery; colorectal cancer; surgical quality.