Personal experience in the surgical management of carcinoma of the stomach.

A consecutive series of 226 cases of carcinoma of the stomach has been studied. The policy of treatment has been consistent throughout and laparotomy was performed in 96-5 per cent of cases. The follow-up has been studied with regard to duration of symptoms, location and degree of spread of the tumour and different forms of operative treatment. Although Billroth I gastrectomy gave a 32 per cent 5-year survival rate for the less advanced tumours the overall survival remains, as in other series, depressingly low (8-5 per cent). Education of the public to present early would not appear to help the situation as survival was directly proportional to the duration of symptoms.