PROGNOSIS AND END RESULTS IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER OF THE STOMACH

Abstract

The only hope of cure for carcinoma of the stomach at present resides in establishing the diagnosis at a time when surgical removal of the growth is possible. The main opportunity to reduce the great number of deaths which this condition causes annually (38,000 for the United States of America) lies in establishing the diagnosis earlier in a greater proportion of cases, so that more patients may be afforded the possible benefits of gastric resection. As has been emphasized by Livingston and Pack,¹ any consideration of ultimate results obtained in the treatment of gastric carcinoma should take into account first the entire number of cases in which the diagnosis has been established and subsequently determine how many of the patients have been cured. Those who may be interested in a detailed statistical study of carcinoma of the stomach are referred to a work based on our experience in the