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Editor's Pick Original Investigation

National Trends and Predictors of Waiting Times for Cancer Surgery in the US

JAMA Surgery 10.1001/jamasurg.2026.3212

August 12, 2026 at 11:00 AM EDT

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Among patients undergoing cancer surgery, waiting times to initiation of first-course therapy have steadily increased since 2012, particularly at high-volume academic centers and among patients referred for definitive care. With continued consolidation and expansion of health systems, system-level strategies are urgently needed to monitor and mitigate delays in the delivery of surgical care for cancer.

This Original Investigation has an accompanying Invited Commentary.

Corresponding Author: Timothy R. Donahue, MD, University of California, Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Ave, 54-117, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6904 (tdonahue@mednet.ucla.edu).

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