should we only include new oesophago-gastric cancers and exclude recurrent?
Yes, only new cancers of the oesophagus and stomach are included in the Audit. Recurrences are NOT included. Although tumour recurrence is a very important problem in oesophago-gastric cancer (especially given its relative frequency and devastating impact on the patient) it is extremely difficult to collect data on it on a national scale. In the interests of reducing the data burden on the units therefore, these tumours are excluded from the Audit.
