title: Comparing colorectal cancer treatment and survival for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in New South Wales.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to compare surgical treatment rates and survival rates for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in New South Wales with colorectal cancer, and to describe the medical treatment received by a sample of Aboriginal people with colorectal cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  All people diagnosed with colorectal cancer in NSW during 2001-2007 were identified and their cancer registry records linked to hospital admissions data and death records. A medical records audit of a sample of Aboriginal people diagnosed with colorectal cancer during 2000-2011 was also conducted.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cause-specific survival, odds of surgical treatment, and the proportions of people receiving adjuvant treatments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 29 777 eligible colorectal cancer cases, 278 (0.9%) involved Aboriginal people. Similar proportions of Aboriginal (76%) and non-Aboriginal (79%) people had undergone surgical treatment. Colorectal cancer-specific survival was similar for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people up to 18 months after diagnosis, but 5 years post-diagnosis the risk of death for Aboriginal people who had had surgical treatment was 68% higher than for non-Aboriginal people (adjusted hazards ratio, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.32-2.09). Of 145 Aboriginal people with colorectal cancer identified by the medical records audit, 117 (81%) had undergone surgery, and 56 (48%) had also received adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aboriginal people with colorectal cancer had poorer survival rates than non-Aboriginal people, although rates of surgical treatment, complications and follow-up colonoscopy were similar. More work is needed to identify and understand why outcomes for Aboriginal people with colorectal cancer are different from those of other New South Wales residents.
authors.affiliation: University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW rajahs@nswcc.org.au.
authors.forename: Kristie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Weir
authors.affiliation: Cancer Council NSW, Sydney, NSW.
authors.forename: Rajah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Supramaniam
authors.affiliation: University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gibberd
authors.affiliation: Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, NSW.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.affiliation: Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
authors.forename: Bruce K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.affiliation: Cancer Council NSW, Sydney, NSW.
authors.forename: Dianne L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: O'Connell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult; D000095283:Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples