Extent of lymph node dissection for stomach cancer: generally accepted standard or object for discussion (review of literature)

The results of worldwide randomized clinical studies on effectiveness and safety of the extent of lymph node dissection for stomach cancer were summarized. Extension of lymph node dissection was found to result in increased level of post surgical morbidity and mortality in the absence of its influence on long term treatment results. Possible causes of contradictory data obtained by different investigators were analyzed and the ways of further research of surgical stomach cancer treatment problem were defined.