Abstract
BACKGROUND: We examined the impact of the weekend effect on the survival outcomes of patients undergoing elective esophagectomy for cancer. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of a nationwide, health administrative dataset that included all patients (n = 3235) who had undergone elective esophagectomy for cancer in Taiwanese hospitals between 2008 and 2015. Patients were categorized according to the day of surgery (weekday group: surgical procedures starting Monday through Friday, n = 3148; weekend group: surgical procedures starting on Saturday or Sunday, n = 87). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) using the propensity score was used to account for selection bias due to baseline differences. RESULTS: After IPTW, patients undergoing esophagectomy on weekends had a higher 90-days mortality rate compared with those undergoing surgery on a weekday (10.5% vs. 5.5%, respectively, P < 0.001). After controlling for potential confounders, weekend surgery was identified as an independent adverse predictor of 2-years, overall survival [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.38, P < 0.001]. Importantly, inferior weekend outcomes were especially evident in certain subgroups, including patients aged > 60 years (HR = 1.61, P < 0.001), as well as those with a high burden of comorbidities (HR = 1.32, P < 0.001), advanced tumor stage (HR = 1.50, P < 0.001), histological diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (HR = 1.20, P < 0.001), and treated with minimally invasive esophagectomy (HR = 1.26, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Elective esophagectomy for cancer during weekends has an adverse impact on short- and long-term survival.