The importance of quality assurance in surgical oncology

Aims: The aims were to review the existing methods of quality assurance in surgical oncology and to determine a relationship between surgery-related factors and the variety in outcomes in the treatment of solid cancers. Methods: The literature was reviewed by searching Medline and Cancerlit databases. Results: Wide variations were found in virtually all tumour types. Clear evidence was found that an improvement in the quality of the surgical procedure could have major implications for the prognosis and quality of life of cancer patients. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the need for strict quality control procedures in surgical oncology and might imply a considerable change in cancer treatment strategies, because the routine use of adjuvant therapies could be questioned. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.