Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026
Clinical Application of Single-Surgeon, Three-Port, Laparoscopic Resection for Colorectal Cancer with Natural Orifice Specimen Extraction
Published on: March 24, 2023
The association of hospital volume with rectal cancer surgery outcomes
Jeong-Heum Baek1, Abdulhadi Alrubaie, Eduardo A Guzman
1City of Hope National Medical Center, General and Oncologic Surgery, Duarte, CA, USA.
Purpose:
An association between hospital volume and postoperative mortality has been identified for several oncologic surgical procedures. Our objective was to analyze differences in surgical outcomes for patients with rectal cancer according to hospital volume in the state of California.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study from 2000 to 2005 was performed using the state of California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development database. Hospitals were categorized into low (≤30)-, medium (31-60)-, and high (>60)-volume groups based on the total number of rectal cancer operations performed during the study period.
Results:
Overall, 7,187 rectal cancer operations were performed. Of the 321 hospitals in the study cohort, 72 % (n = 232), 20 % (n = 65), and 8 % (n = 24) were low-, medium-, and high-volume hospitals, respectively. Postoperative mortality was significantly lower- in high-volume hospitals (0.9 %) when compared to medium- (1.1 %) and low-volume hospitals (2.1 %; p < 0.001). High-volume hospitals also performed more sphincter-preserving procedures (64 %) when compared to medium- (55 %) and low-volume hospitals (51 %; p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
These data indicate that hospital volume correlates with improved outcomes in rectal cancer surgery. Rectal cancer patients may benefit from lower mortality and increased sphincter preservation in higher-volume centers.
