The objective of this review was to evaluate published evidence for the association between gastric resection for benign disorders and subsequent cancer of the gastric remnant. We searched the literature through Medline (1970 to 1988) and through the references of relevant articles. Fifty-eight studies consisting of case series, uncontrolled surveys, and case control or cohort analyses were identified and critically assessed using defined methodological criteria. There were no consistent differences between the expected and observed number of cancers occurring within 15 years after gastric resection. However, all case control studies and seven of the eight cohort analyses, in which the prevalence of cancer was stratified by time since gastric resection, indicated a twofold to fourfold increase in the risk of gastric cancer in patients who survived 15 or more years after gastric surgery. We conclude that most studies of the association of gastric surgery with subsequent gastric cancer have relatively weak designs. Still, the repetitive demonstration of this association by different investigators using different research designs supports the hypothesis that gastric resection increases the risk of cancer in the gastric remnant.