Mortality After Postcolonoscopy Colorectal Cancer in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System

Abstract

ImportancePostcolonoscopy colorectal cancer (PCCRC) refers to colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosed after a colonoscopy in which no cancer was found and is reflective of colonoscopy quality at the individual and system levels. Colonoscopy is widely performed in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system, but the prevalence of PCCRC and its associated mortality are unknown.ObjectiveTo examine PCCRC prevalence and its all-cause mortality (ACM) and CRC-specific mortality (CSM) within the VA health care system.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis retrospective cohort study used VA-Medicare administrative data to identify 29 877 veterans aged 50 to 85 years with newly diagnosed CRC between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2013. Patients whose colonoscopy occurred less than 6 months before CRC diagnosis with no other colonoscopy within the previous 36 months were categorized as having detected CRC (DCRC). Those who had a colonoscopy that did not detect CRC between 6 and 36 months before CRC diagnosis were categorized as having postcolonoscopy CRC (PCCRC-3y). A third group included patients with CRC and no colonoscopy within the prior 36 months. The final analysis of the data was performed in September 2022.ExposuresPrior receipt of colonoscopy.Main Outcomes and MeasuresCox proportional hazards regression (with censoring, last follow-up December 31, 2018) analyses were conducted to compare PCCRC-3y and DCRC for 5-year ACM and CSM after CRC diagnosis.ResultsOf 29 877 patients with CRC (median [IQR] age, 67 [60-75] years; 29 353 [98%] male; 5284 [18%] Black, 23 971 [80%] White, and 622 [2%] other), 1785 (6%) were classified as having PCCRC-3y and 21 811 (73%) as having DCRC. The 5-year ACM rates were 46% vs 42% for patients with PCCRC-3y vs patients with DCRC. The 5-year CSM rates were 26% vs 25% for patients with PCCRC-3y vs patients with DCRC. In multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, there was no significant difference in ACM and CSM between patients with PCCRC-3y (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.04; 95% CI, 0.98-1.11; P = .18) and patients with DCRC (aHR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.95-1.13; P = .42). However, compared with patients with DCRC, patients with no prior colonoscopy had significantly higher ACM (aHR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.70-1.82; P < .001) and CSM (aHR, 2.22; 95% CI, 2.12-2.32; P < .001). Compared with patients with DCRC, patients with PCCRC-3y had significantly lower odds of having undergone colonoscopy performed by a gastroenterologist (odds ratio, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.43-0.53; P < .001).Conclusions and RelevanceThis study found that PCCRC-3y constituted 6% of CRCs in the VA system, which is similar to other settings. Compared with patients with CRC detected by colonoscopy, those with PCCRC-3y have comparable ACM and CSM.

Postcolonoscopy Colorectal Cancer as a Quality Metric—Identifying Opportunities to Improve Outcomes

“…In summary, Kahi et al 5 demonstrate that colonoscopy quality in the VA system is comparable to that of other health settings using PCCRC-3y as a benchmark, and that patients classified with PCCRC-3y have similar mortality event rates to those with CRC detected by colonoscopy, but lower mortality compared to those without colonoscopy. Further research to evaluate the influence of race and ethnicity, differential care settings, and other established quality metrics on PCCRC-3y will be important.…”

“…In JAMA Network Open , Kahi and colleagues 5 evaluated the prevalence and mortality of patients with PCCRC-3y receiving care in the Veterans Health Administration (VA). They performed a retrospective cohort study using VA-Medicare administrative data that identified a total of 29 877 incident cases of CRC between 2003 and 2013, of which 1785 (6.0%) were classified as PCCRC-3y.…”