Table 5. Potential determinants of lag period between CRC diagnosis and receipt of cancer directed therapy in 289 patients diagnosed with CRC during January 1, 2000 to June 30, 2005 at MEDVAMC.

Variable	Level	n	Median Duration (days)	p-value
CRC treatment				<.0001
	Endoscopy	79	0
	Surgery	140	16.5
	Chemo/radiotherapy	46	41.0
	None*	24	106.0
Lag between referral and diagnosis				.55
	≥41 days	145	10.0
	<41 days	144	14.0
CRC stage at diagnosis				<.0001
	A	100	0
	B	83	24
	C	55	23
	D	51	22
Race				.88
	black	86	7.5
	white	198	12.5
	other	5	29.0
Age				.11
	40-49	3	0
	50-59	63	4.0
	60-69	85	13.0
	70-79	106	21.0
	80+	32	7.0
186 patients who received cancer directed treatment other than complete endoscopic resection (n=79); 24 did not receive cancer directed therapy.
CRC location				.53
	Rectum	53	41.0
	Left Colon	68	18.0
	Right Colon	65	14.0
CRC stage at diagnosis				0.32
	A	16	24.5
	B	78	24.5
	C	54	23
	D	38	16
Coronary artery disease
	Present	144	20.0	.07
	Absent	42	35.0
Congestive heart failure
	Present	178	22.5	.51
	Absent	8	17.0
Diabetes
	Present	134	21.5	.25
	Absent	52	25.0
Hypertension
	Present	78	22.0	.61
	Absent	108	23.5
Chronic obstructive airway disease
	Present	160	22.0	.98
	Absent	26	24.0
Psychiatric disorders
	Present	164	23.0	.46
	Absent	22	19.5