INTRODUCTION: "Natural history", or anticipated survival without treatment, is critical for @entity1 weighing risks and benefits of @entity5 surgery. Current estimates concerning the natural history of @entity5 includes @entity1 whose poor health precludes treatment; a cohort whose fate is likely distinctly worse than those eligible for surgery ("operable"). The study objective was to evaluate survival among @entity1 recommended for @entity5 surgery but went untreated, to determine the natural history of "operable" alimentary tract @entity5 . METHODS: The NCDB was queried for untreated @entity1 with clinical stage I-III esophageal, gastric, colon, and @entity5 diagnosed between 2003 and 2009. Untreated @entity1 who were recommended for surgery were considered "operable," while @entity1 coded as surgically ineligible for health reasons were "inoperable." RESULTS: 5-year survival of untreated, "operable" alimentary tract @entity5 varied by clinical stage: esophageal cI  =  10.0%, cII  =  9.8%, cIII  =  4.6%; gastric cI  =  9.2%, cII  =  5.8%, cIII  =  4.3%; colon cI  =  18.4%, cII  =  5.0%, cIII  =  10.4; and rectal cI  =  17.1%, cII  =  14.0%, cIII  =  19.9%. At every timepoint, stage-specific survival of "operable" @entity1 was superior to inoperable @entity1 (p  <  0.05). Additionally, median survival among "operable" @entity1 at least doubled "inoperable" @entity1 for each @entity5 . CONCLUSION: Natural history of @entity1 with "operable" alimentary tract @entity5 is superior to that of "inoperable" @entity1 . Preoperative counseling should be refined to reflect this distinction.

"What if I do nothing?" The natural history of operable XXXX of the alimentary tract.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['tumor', 'cancers', 'cancer', 'rectal cancer']
@entity5 :: (MESH:D009369,Disease) :: ['cancer']
