Specialist surgery “Some surgeons perform less than optimal surgery. Some are less competent technically than their colleagues; and some fail to supervise surgeons in training adequately. … If by more meticulous attention to detail, the results of surgery could be improved, and our results suggest that this would not be difficult, the impact on survival might be greater than that of any of the adjuvant therapies currently under study.” McArdle and Hole, BMJ 1991;302:1501-5
The surgeon as a prognostic factor in rectal cancer Variability among 13 consultant surgeons (%) Curative resection (R0) 40 – 76 Anastomotic leakage0 – 25 Postoperative mortality 8 – 30 Local recurrence0 – 21 Survival20 – 63
Importance of training and team effort Surgical oncology is top-class sport Training and (multidisciplinary) team effort essential
Effect of surgical trainee program in Sweden Stockholm I (n = 686) Stockholm II (n = 481) TME project (n = 381) p-value Local recurrence103 (15%)66 (14%)21 (6%)< Cancer specific death 104 (15%)77 (16%)35 (9%)0.002 Abdominoperineal resection 414 (60%)266 (55%)101 (27%)< Martling et al. Lancet, 2000; 356:
Results of the Norwegian program
Percentage of CRM+ in MRC CRO7 trial Year P. Quirke et al. ASCO 2006
Trials have a large educational effect
The impact of hospital volume on outcome of rectal cancer surgery ( ) Swedish cancer registry <25 postoperative mortality % annual no of op
Variability of outcome related to case volume High-volume teamLow-volume teamp-value Mean no. of operations / year> Curative surgery245 (78)277 (82) Median (range) of follow-up (months) 41 (24-59)43 (24-59) Local recurrence9 (4)27 (10)0.02 Distant metastasis39 (16)54 (19)0.33 Rectal cancer death26 (11)51 (18)0.007 Martling et al, Br J Surg 2002;89:
Centers of excellence are needed
Outcomes-based quality improvement Outcomes registry Concurrent assessments of structure and process of care –Registry-based, site visits Analyses aimed at identifying best practices Broad implementation of such practices Outcomes tracking to confirm improvements Current development of European audit of colorectal cancer treatment