Gastric cancer survival in the West is inferior to that achieved in Asian centers. While differences in tumor biology may play a role, poor quality surgery likely contributes to understaging. We hypothesize that the majority of surgeons performing gastric cancer surgery in North America are unaware of the recommended standards.
Using the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons registry, surgeons who potentially included gastric cancer surgery in their scope of practice were identified. A questionnaire was mailed to 559; of those, 206 surgeons reported managing gastric cancer. Results were evaluated by chi(2) and logistic regression; P