Accuracy of current educational literature on the staging of gastric carcinoma.

Abstract

Staging of gastric adenocarcinoma is important for comparing aspects of the disease in Asia and in the Western countries, and it may be used to direct the treatment strategy. A survey of 13 popular current surgical textbooks and review journals found a high level of inaccuracy. Two texts (15%) did not mention any staging systems, and one (8%) described a nonstandard system. Three (23%) described staging systems that were out of date, and six descriptions (46%) were inaccurate. Only 40% of the cited staging systems was reliable. This level of inaccuracy leads to confusion for the reader and to difficulty interpreting other relevant literature.