A new study from Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine explains why cancer patients treated at high-volume hospitals or centers live longer than those treated at low-volume hospitals. The study pertains particularly to patients with pancreatic or gastric cancer.
At hospitals that perform a greater number of cancer surgeries, physicians test more lymph nodes in patients than other medical centers and community hospitals. The more lymph nodes that are studied, the more accurate the classification of an individual's cancer will be.
Guidelines recommend that patients have at least 15 lymph nodes evaluated to accurately diagnose a stage disease.
2008 Woodie Awards
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