Objective: To investigate predictors of evidence‐based surgical care in a population‐based sample of patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer. Design, patients and setting: Prospective audit of all new patients with colorectal cancer reported to the New South Wales Central Cancer Registry between 1 February 2000 and 31 January 2001. Main outcome measures: Concordance with seven guidelines from the 1999 Australian evidence‐based guidelines for colorectal cancer; predictors of guideline concordance; the mean proportion of relevant guidelines followed for individual patients. Results: Questionnaires were received for 3095 patients (91.6%). Between 0 and 100% of relevant guidelines were followed for individual patients (median, 67%). Concordance with individual guidelines varied considerably. Patient age independently predicted non‐concordance with guidelines for adjuvant therapy and preoperative radiotherapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy was more likely if a patient with node‐positive colon cancer was treated in a metropolitan hospital or by a general surgeon. Surgeons with a high caseload or specialty in colorectal cancer were more likely to perform colonic pouch reconstruction, prescribe thromboembolism or antibiotic prophylaxis, and were less likely to refer patients with high‐risk rectal cancer for adjuvant radiotherapy. Bowel preparation was less likely among older patients and in high‐caseload hospitals. Conclusion: Effective strategies to fully implement national colorectal cancer guidelines are needed. In particular, increasing the use of appropriate adjuvant therapy should be a priority, especially among older people.

This nationwide population-based survey of the treatment of colorectal cancer patients suggests that the delivery of care by surgeons (the majority) who treat patients with rectal cancer infrequently should be evaluated.

With the considerable resources required to develop clinical practice guidelines, studies like this are essential to monitor the impact of the guidelines. To ensure that the guidelines are in line with current evidence, regular reviews of the guideline recommendations are required.

Non-small-cell lung cancer remains a leading cause of death around the world. For most cases, the only chance of cure comes from resection for localised disease, however relapse rates remain high following surgery. Data has emerged over recent years regarding the utility of adjuvant chemotherapy for improving disease-free and overall survival of patients following curative resection. This paper reviews the clinical trials that have been conducted in this area along with the studies integrating radiation therapy in the adjuvant setting. The role of prognostic gene signatures are reviewed as well as ongoing clinical trials including those incorporating biological or targeted therapies.

In some respects pathology reports of resected colorectal cancer specimens displayed a high level of completeness. Some important features, however, were poorly described. Reporting could be improved if surgeons were to use a standardized form to convey clinical information to the pathologist and if pathologists were to report in a structured or synoptic format, explicitly recording the presence or absence of each feature in a standard list.