Abstract
Introduction
Robot-assisted oesophagectomy (RAE) and thoracolaparoscopic oesophagectomy (TLE) are
surgical techniques for the treatment of oesophageal cancer. This study aimed to compare
the perioperative and mid-term outcomes of RAE versus TLE for patients with locally
advanced oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy
(nCRT).
Methods
Consecutive patients receiving nCRT plus RAE or TLE were retrospectively included
in this single-institution study from January 2016 to January 2021. Perioperative
outcomes were compared and survival analysis was performed.
Results
This study enrolled 251 patients, 80 (31.9%) in RAE and 171 (68.1%) in TLE. The conversion
rate was equivalent in RAE versus TLE (3.8% vs 2.9%, P = 1). Median operative time
in RAE was significantly shorter than that in TLE (254 vs 289 min, P < 0.001). Compared
to TLE, RAE harvested more lymph nodes along the recurrent laryngeal nerve [4 (3–6)
vs 3 (1–5), P < 0.001]. Overall complications were similar in RAE compared to TLE
(38.8% vs 38.0%, P = 0.911). No statistically significant difference in disease-free
survival (log-rank P = 0.721) or overall survival (log-rank P = 0.325) was found between
groups.
Conclusions
Compared to TLE, RAE could achieve shorter operative duration and better lymph nodes
dissection along the bilateral RLN for locally advanced ESCC after nCRT, with comparable
short-term outcomes. A long-term survival remains to be verified.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 28, 2022
Accepted:
November 21,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 7,
2022
Received:
August 18,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.
