Long-term outcomes of gastric cancer in a single small center: a retrospective analysis

Abstract

Background The aim of this study is to evaluate the long-term outcomes and short-term outcomes of gastric cancer patients who underwent surgical treatment in a small-sized single center by one surgeon. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 950 patients who underwent surgical treatment for gastric cancer between January 2000 and January 2010 at Dong-rae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea. A total of 820 patients were included and analyzed. We divided the time period into 2 groups: 2000–2005 (period 1) and 2006–2010 (period 2). Since all the surgeries were performed by one surgeon, we were able to analyze the changes in long-term outcomes as the individual surgeon volume accumulated. Results The mean follow-up period was 78.26 months. The overall survival and relapse-free survival rates of all patients were 84.6%, and 86.5%, respectively; the postoperative morbidity and mortality rates were 12% and 0.36%, respectively. The relapse-free survival rate was higher in period 2 than in period 1 (82.9% versus 90.2%, p = 0.002) Conclusions Our study showed that the short-term outcomes and long-term outcomes of gastric cancer treatment in a small-sized hospital were comparable to those in large-sized hospitals. Accumulated individual surgeon volume was related to a high relapse-free survival rate.