Database analysis of association of surgeon-patient sex concordance with outcomes following complex cancer surgery

Sex concordance may impact the therapeutic relationship and provider-patient interactions. Analysis of the Medicare Standard Analytic Files investigated the association of surgeon-patient sex concordance with outcomes following complex cancer surgery. The authors identified 495,628 patients undergoing surgery for lung, breast, hepato-pancreatico-biliary, or colorectal cancer between 2014 and 2020. Among these patients, 48.8% were sex concordant with their surgeon, while 51.2% were not. Sex discordance was associated with a decreased likelihood to achieve a postoperative textbook outcome (OR 0.95; p<0.001). This association was seen among male patients treated by female surgeons (OR 0.96; p=0.011) as well as among female patients treated by male surgeons (OR 0.90; p<0.001). The authors conclude that surgeon-patient sex discordance was associated with a reduced likelihood of achieving optimal outcome following complex cancer surgery.