Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States: Why are guidelines for gastric cancer different?

Abstract

As a global health concern, gastric cancer management has been systematized by individual countries and regions into regimented guidelines. To explore international differences, we examined the guidelines of Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. Guidelines are created by experts in the field, focusing on evidence-based recommendations to standardize and improve patient care, but the methodology for guideline creation, incorporation of new innovations, and review differs significantly. National and regional differences within the guidelines are apparent, stemming from various factors including local incidence, stage, presentation, patient preferences, and governmental influences. Differences include the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, criteria for endoscopic resection, and extent of lymphadenectomy. Nonetheless, fundamental treatment principles remain universal, and the goals of national guidelines are uniform: standardizing patient care, providing the highest quality treatments, incorporating cutting-edge clinical trial results, and consensus in guidelines to help formulate governmental policies. This review highlights how the guidelines are constructed, the unique elements of each guideline, how they differ, and why they differ.