Surgical and oncological outcomes of robot-assisted versus laparoscopic radical nephroureterectomy for upper-tract urothelial carcinoma: A single-center comparative analysis

Introduction: We retrospectively compared surgical and oncological outcomes of robot-assisted (RA) radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in patients of upper-tract urothelial carcinoma with a cohort of patients who underwent the same procedure using a laparoscopic approach. Methods: Data of 63 consecutive patients who underwent RNU with bladder cuff excision (BCE) from 2011 to 2022 at a single tertiary care institution was retrospectively retrieved from the electronically maintained institutional database. Twenty-six cases underwent RNU with a laparoscopic approach, whereas 37 were done by RA approach. Demographic, clinical, surgical, and pathologic details and survival analyses were reported and compared. The tetrafecta of RNU, which include the performance of a BCE, lymphadenectomy, no positive surgical margin, and no major surgical complication, was also reviewed. Results: The mean age and body mass index of the robotic and laparoscopic groups were 61.5 years versus 62.7 years and 23.8 versus 24.9 kg/m(2), respectively (P = 0.710 and 0.309). The Charlson Comorbidity Index and upper-tract tumor site distribution were comparable between the groups. There was no significant difference in the distribution of T stage, N stage, presence of multifocality, or lymphovascular invasion between the two groups. Although the rate of concomitant carcinoma in situ was higher in laparoscopic cohort, 42.8% versus 10.8% in robotic cohort (P = 0.004). The laparoscopic group had higher blood transfusion rates (50 vs. 13.5%, P = 0.002) and longer median hospital stays (7 vs. 4 days, P = 0.000). The median follow-up time was 21.5 versus 27 months in the laparoscopic and robotic groups. The RA group was significantly better in the achievement of the tetrafecta outcomes. The 5-year urinary bladder recurrence-free survival (UB RFS) and elsewhere RFS between the laparoscopic and robotic cohorts were 65% versus 72% and 56% versus 70%, respectively (P = 0.510 and 0.190). The laparoscopic cohort had worse 5-year cancer-specific survival and overall survival (64% vs. 90% and 58% vs. 74%, P = 0.04 and 0.08). Conclusion: The robotic approach to RNU and BCE has significantly lower transfusion rates, lower hospital stays, and significantly better cancer-specific survival rates.