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Colorectal cancer: is the surgeon a prognostic factor?: A systematic review
Author(s) -
Meagher Alan P
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1999.tb123665.x
Subject(s) - medicine , colorectal cancer , general surgery , colonic disease , cancer , medline , anastomosis , risk factor , surgery , oncology , political science , law
Objective To assess whether there is evidence that the surgeon is a prognostic factor in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Data source MEDLINE 1985 – February 1999, and bibliographies of retrieved articles. Study selection Publications which analysed the outcome of patients with colorectal cancer and in which one of the variables analysed was the surgeon. Results Thirteen studies were identified which addressed the outcome measures: post‐operative mortality, anastomotic leak rate, local recurrence rate, and long‐term survival. For these outcomes, different surgeons achieve significantly different results, with experienced and specialist surgeons achieving significantly better results than other surgeons. Conclusion The current data strongly suggest that the surgeon is an important prognostic factor in the treatment of colorectal cancer.