End Results of Surgical Treatment: British Experience

Abstract

The overall incidence of gastric cancer in England and Wales has not changed over the past 30 years, but mortality from the disease has fallen significantly in both sexes—from 34/10⁵ to 22/10⁵ in males and 25/10⁵ to 14/10⁵ in females. This, at first sight, is a surprising finding, suggesting, as it does, an improvement in treatment results [1]. Throughout much of that period, most British cancer registries record that only about 50%–60% of patients were treated initially by surgery, the most common operation performed being a simple partial gastrectomy without particular attention being paid to adjacent lymph nodes, omenta, or adjoining structures.