Morbidity and mortality after D2 gastrectomy for gastric cancer: Results of the Italian gastric cancer study group prospective multicenter surgical study

tion together with a strict quality-control system could ameliorate the outcome of D2 resections for gastric cancer in Western patients. Patients and Methods: Italian patients with poten-tially curable proven adenocarcinoma of the stomach were registered from nine general and/or university hospitals in the area of Turin, Northern Italy. The study was performed according to the guidelines of the Japa-nese Research Society for Gastric Cancer (JRSGC). A strict quality-control system was guaranteed by a super-vising surgeon of the reference center, who had stayed at the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, to learn the standard D2 gastrectomy. The standard procedure entailed removal of the level 1 and 2 lymph nodes. During total gastrectomy, the pancreas was preserve