KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to analyze outcomes of robotic vs. laparoscopic surgery in patients with rectal cancer.
- Results suggested that RARS is safe and potentially superior to laparoscopic surgery, but larger trials are needed.
Robotic-assisted rectal surgery (RARS) and laparoscopic techniques are increasingly used in rectal cancer surgery, each with various advantages and disdvantages. Determining the optimal approach requires a thorough comparison of their outcomes.
Muhammad Haris Khan and the team aimed to evaluate and compare the outcomes of RARS and laparoscopic-assisted rectal surgery in patients with rectal cancer.
Researchers conducted a comprehensive search across multiple databases, including PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar. The analysis included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared both surgical techniques for rectal cancer.
About 15 RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. The RARS group showed a significantly lower conversion rate to open surgery. Outcomes like anastomotic leak, postoperative ileus, postoperative urinary retention, surgical site infection, and intra-abdominal abscess were similar between the 2 groups.
However, the RARS group had a lower reoperation rate. While heterogeneity was observed in operative time, length of hospital stay, and blood loss, there were no significant differences in oncological outcomes, including local recurrence, the number of harvested lymph nodes, and distal resection margin between the groups. Notably, RARS was associated with a lower positive circumferential resection margin and a higher rate of total mesorectal excision.
The study suggested that RARS is a safe and feasible option for patients with rectal cancer, potentially offering advantages over laparoscopic-assisted surgery. However, further large-scale, high-quality trials are necessary to confirm these findings and establish the most effective approach.
No funding was received.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39225912/
Khan MH, Tahir A, Hussain A, et al. (2024). “Outcomes of robotic versus laparoscopic-assisted surgery in patients with rectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2024;409(1):269. Published 2024 Sep 3. doi:10.1007/s00423-024-03460-3
