Better Outcomes Have Resulted from Regionalization of Rectal Cancer Surgery, Study Concludes

​"The current trend toward regionalization of rectal cancer care to high-volume surgeons and high-volume centers has led to improved outcomes," conclude the authors of a study in the March 2016 issue of Surgery. Using a database operated by the New York Department of Health, the authors studied nearly 8,000 elective abdominoperineal and low anterior resections for rectal cancer performed between 2000 and 2011. The researchers also grouped surgeons and hospitals into quartiles based on volume, comparing those in the top quartile with those in all other quartiles. The primary outcomes examined were rates of nonrestorative proctectomy (which involves colostomy rather than a sphincter-sparing procedure) and 30-day mortality. Over the study period, the proportion of cases performed by high-volume surgeons increased, as did the proportion performed by high-volume hospitals.