3. Assessment of QOL The European EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 3.0) questionnaire is a 30-item cancer-specific integrated system for assessing the health-related QOL of cancer patients. The questionnaire incorporates five scales of function (physical, role, cognitive, emotional and social), three symptom scales (fatigue, pain and nausea and vomiting), a global health and QOL scale, and single items for the assessment of additional symptoms commonly reported by cancer patients (e.g., dyspnea, appetite loss, sleep disturbance, constipation and diarrhea), as well as the perceived financial impact of the disease and treatment. All items were scored on four-point Likert scales, with the exception of two items in the global health QOL scale, which used modified seven-point linear analog scales. The EORTC QLQ-STO22 with a 22-item stomach cancer-specific questionnaire was also used. It incorporates five hypothesized scales—(dysphasia, eating restrictions, pain, reflux and anxiety) and four single items (having a dry mouth, body image, taste, and hair loss) covering disease and treatment-related symptoms and specific emotional consequences of gastric cancer.12 All instruments of the questionnaire were administered preoperatively and postoperatively at seven days, 30 days, 90 days and yearly. Those time points were chosen at usual follow-up schedule for every gastrectomized patients in our institute, to maximize compliance for the questionnaire, and to compare other parameters at the same time.