Short- and long-term outcomes of robotic versus conventional laparoscopic surgery for middle or lower rectal cancer: a propensity score-matched analysis.

Purpose: The potential benefits of robotic surgery (RS) for rectal cancer (RC) remain uncertain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes of RS compared to conventional laparoscopic surgery (LS) for stage I-III middle or lower RC.

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 350 consecutive patients with stage I-III middle or lower RC who underwent curative surgery from 2017 to 2021, employing propensity score matching (PSM) analysis.

Results: Of 350 patients, 128 patients underwent RS. After PSM, we enrolled 256 patients. Median follow-up was 59.8 months. Before PSM, significant differences were observed between groups regarding primary tumor site (p = 0.02). After PSM, no significant differences between groups were observed in terms of operative time, blood loss, conversion rate, intra-operative and postoperative complications, or number of lymph nodes harvested. After PSM, 3- and 5-year cumulative LR rates were 3.2% and 3.2% in the RS group, and 2.8% and 3.2% in the LS group, respectively. The cumulative distant recurrence (DR) rates in the RS group were 13.4% at 3-year and 15.1% at 5-year, whereas in the LS group, they were 14.9% and 18.7%, respectively. No notable differences in cumulative LR or DR rates were evident between groups. Furthermore, no notable differences were observed between groups regarding overall, cancer-specific, or recurrence-free survival according to stage.

Conclusions: RS appears to be viable and safe treatment approach for patients with middle or lower RC, offering short- and long-term outcomes comparable to those of LS.