Higher surgical volume centers reduce postoperative mortality

Among 143,582 patients undergoing digestive cancer surgery, those treated at high-volume centers experienced significantly lower 90-day mortality rates compared to low-volume centers. Univariate analysis revealed mortality rates of 5.06% at high-volume centers vs. 7.23% at low-volume centers for gastric surgeries and similar trends across other subspecialties. Multivariate analysis indicated a substantial reduction in mortality for high-volume centers (OR=0.78, CI 0.71-0.87, p<0.001). Regulatory thresholds appear justified and beneficial.