Columbia University Study Finds Ovarian Cancer Surgery Patients Fare Better at High-Volume Hospitals

Research conducted by at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City finds that women who have ovarian cancer surgery at hospitals with a high volume of such operations have a better chance of survival than women who have similar operations at hospitals who perform the procedure less often. The research found that the lower success rate at hospitals that do not perform a high volume of such surgeries is not because of a higher rate of complications but rather on less success in the treatment of complications. Women at low-volume hospitals were 50 percent more likely to die from complications than women at high-volume hospitals.

“Surgical volume has an important effect on outcomes following surgery,” said lead author Jason D. Wright, the Levine Family Assistant Professor of Women’s Health and the Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center.

The study was published online in advance of print in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.