Postoperative Morbidity and Mortality After Gastric Cancer Surgery

According to 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) data, gastric cancer is the fourth most common malignant disease and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Surgery with lymphadenectomy remains the standard of care. Despite significant changes in gastric cancer treatment protocols, surgery is still associated with high risks of complications, with rates varying from clinic to clinic. And currently, the use of multimodal treatments and standardization of surgical procedures are proposed as strategies to improve outcomes. In addition, the use of laparoscopic and robotic techniques have been proposed to provide better short-term results compared to open surgery and comparable long-term oncological outcomes. Randomized trials show that the postoperative course differs significantly between eastern and western centers, as well as between clinics within Russian Federation. Postoperative 30-day postoperative mortality after gastric cancer surgery ranges from 1% to 5%, and postoperative complication rates range from 10% to 40%. While mortality is easier to quantify, there are no standardized criteria for calculating postoperative complication rates. To improve the quality of further studies and recommendations for standardization of surgical treatment of gastric cancer and its complications, there is a need to study the differences in 90-day postoperative morbidity and mortality in different clinics and centers of the Russian Federation.