Letter To The Editor: Can We Really Conclude That Treatment Delays Are Associated With Poorer Outcome In Patients With Colorectal Cancer Awaiting Elective Surgery?

With great interest we read the systematic review by Whittaker et al. [1] published in Colorectal Disease. The study aims to explore the association between treatment delay (TD), and overall survival (OS) or disease free survival (DFS) in patients undergoing elective surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC). The authors concluded that elective surgery for CRC should not be postponed longer than 4 weeks. Although we endorse the importance of the aim of the study, we have some methodological concerns regarding this systematic review and meta-analysis.