Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background To date, robotic surgery has been widely used worldwide. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate short- and long-term outcomes of robotic gastrectomy (RG) in gastric cancer patients to determine whether RG can replace laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG).Methods Pubmed, Cochrane Library, WanFang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and VIP databases were comprehensively searched for studies published before May 2020 that compared RG with LG. Next, two independent reviewers conducted literature screening and data extraction. The quality of the literature was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS),and the data analyzed using the Review Manager 5.3 software. Random effects or fixed effects models were applied according to heterogeneity.Results A total of 19 studies including 7275 patients were included in the meta-analyses, of which 4598 patients were in the LG group and 2677 in the RG group. Compared with LG,RG was associated with longer operative time (WMD=−32.96 min; 95% CI:-42.08~-23.84, P<0.00001),less blood loss (WMD=28.66 ml; 95% CI: 18.59~38.73, P<0.00001),and shorter time to first flatus (WMD=0.16days; 95%CI:0.06~0.27, P=0.003).There was no significant difference between RG and LG in terms of the hospital stay (WMD=0.23days, 95 % CI:-0.53~0.98, P=0.56),overall postoperative complication (OR=1.07, 95 % CI:0.91~1.25, P=0.43),mortality (OR=0.67, 95% CI=0.24~1.90, P=0.45),the number of harvested lymph nodes (WMD=-0.96, 95% CI:-2.12~0.20, P=0.10),proximal resection margin (WMD=-0.10 cm,95% CI:-0.29~0.09, P=0.30),and distal resection margin (WMD=0.15cm,95% CI:-0.21~0.52, P=0.41).No significant differences were found between the two treatments in overall survival(OS) (HR=0.95, 95% CI:0.76~1.18; P=0.64), recurrence-free survival(RFS) (HR=0.91, 95% CI:0.69~1.21;P=0.53), and recurrence rate (OR=0.90, 95% CI:0.67~1.21; P=0.50). Conclusions The results of this study suggested that RG is as acceptable as LG in terms of short-term and long-term outcomes. RG can be performed as effectively and safely as LG. Moreover, more randomized controlled trials comparing the two techniques with rigorous study designs are still essential to evaluate the value of the robotic surgery for gastric cancer.

Comparison of Long-Term and Perioperative Outcomes of Robotic Versus Conventional Laparoscopic Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of PSM and RCT Studies

“…Three previous meta-analyses comparing the perioperative and oncologic outcomes of RG to LG were published (5,6,35). However, the sample size of two meta-analyses was relatively small (6,35), and the study of recurrence-free survival outcome of RG. Compared with their results, our study included some recent studies (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33).…”

“…Since then, studies on RG have been broadly reported. Although several meta-analyses have compared the safety and feasibility of RG with LG, these meta-analyses comprised a small sample size, low-quality studies, and no RCT, which limited them to deduce objective conclusions (5)(6)(7).…”

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Background: To investigate the perioperative and oncological outcomes of gastric cancer (GC) after robotic versus laparoscopic gastrectomy (RG versus LG), we carried out a meta-analysis of propensity score matching (PSM) studies and randomized controlled study (RCT) to compare the safety and overall effect of RG to LG for patients with GC.Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register were searched based on a defined search strategy to identify eligible PSM and RCT studies before July 2021. Data on perioperative and oncological outcomes were subjected to meta-analysis.Results: Overall, we identified 19 PSM studies and 1 RCT of RG versus LG, enrolling a total of 13,446 patients (6,173 and 7,273 patients underwent RG and LG, respectively). The present meta-analysis revealed nonsignificant differences in tumor size, proximal resection margin distance, distal resection margin distance, abdominal bleeding, ileus, anastomosis site leakage, duodenal stump leakage rate, conversion rate, reoperation, overall survival rate, and long-term recurrence-free survival rate between the two groups.

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“…Results: Overall, we identified 19 PSM studies and 1 RCT of RG versus LG, enrolling a total of 13,446 patients (6,173 and 7,273 patients underwent RG and LG, respectively). The present meta-analysis revealed nonsignificant differences in tumor size, proximal resection margin distance, distal resection margin distance, abdominal bleeding, ileus, anastomosis site leakage, duodenal stump leakage rate, conversion rate, reoperation, overall survival rate, and long-term recurrence-free survival rate between the two groups.…”

Oncological outcomes of laparoscopic versus open gastrectomy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced gastric cancer: a retrospective multicenter study

“…Thus, future studies with multicenter collaboration are needed to control for the influence of surgical experience. Besides, future studies should also assess the value of robotic surgery in the era of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with GC [46]. Notably, Li et al showed that after four cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, LG and OG were comparable in terms of distal and proximal margins, number of resected or metastatic lymph nodes, postoperative complications, operative time, blood loss, and length of hospital stay [28].…”