This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Colon Cancer  • Colorectal Surgery  • Alert me on articles by topic

Michael J. Stamos, MD
Orange, Calif

Arch Surg. 2004;139:156.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Significant variation in the care of the patient with rectal cancer has been noted by numerous authors.^1-2 Variations based on surgical subspecialization, hospital volumes, and surgeon volumes have all been subject to intense scrutiny. Morris and colleagues looked at the treatment of the patient with rectal cancer, using the SEER database, and found significant differences based on the patient's race. Specifically, they found that sphincter salvage procedures were less likely to be applied to African American patients than to white patients. Additionally, the authors found that most white and African American patients did not receive radiation therapy for stage II to III rectal cancer, contrary to the 1990 National Institutes of Health consensus conference, with African Americans again being less likely than whites to receive radiation therapy. I found this article to be interesting and thought provoking. In recent years, the medical literature has been relatively . . . [Full Text of this Article]