Robotic versus laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer in asia: A meta-analysis of short-term outcomes from six randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND

This study aims to compare the short-term outcomes of RG and LG for the treatment of gastric cancer(GC).

METHODS

All potential studies comparing the surgical effects between RG and LG were electronically searched in the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases up to August 30, 2024.

RESULTS

After screening 660 articles, a total of six randomized controlled trials(RCTs) with 1055 patients (547 in the RG group and 508 in the LG group) were included in the current meta-analysis. As compared with LG group, the pooled data showed that RG group had less intraoperative blood loss(WMD = -27.36; 95%CI = -45.76 to -8.96; p = 0.004), more retrieved lymph nodes(WMD = 2.7; 95%CI = 0.16 to 5.24; p = 0.04), shorter postoperative hospital stay(WMD = -1.06; 95%CI = -1.54 to -0.59; p < 0.0001), lower postoperative complications(OR = 0.47; 95%CI = 0.28 to 0.82; p < 0.0001), earlier time to first flatus(WMD = -0.28; 95%CI = -0.48 to -0.07; p = 0.007) and liquid intake(WMD = -0.3; 95%CI = -0.42 to -0.19; p < 0.00001). There were no significant differences between the two groups concerning operating times(WMD = 8.21; 95%CI = -3.76 to 20.19; p = 0.18) and time to first ambulation(WMD = -0.06; 95%CI = -0.19 to 0.08; p = 0.41). In addition, no difference in perioperative mortality was observed between the two study groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Current evidence suggests that RG could provide better short-term outcomes compared to LG for the treatment of gastric cancer.