Para-aortic lymph node surgical staging in locally-advanced cervical cancer: comparison between robotic versus conventional laparoscopy
With the expansion of the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques within the field of gynecological oncology, a robot assisted procedure seems to be an attractive technique for para-aortic lymph node sampling. The aim of this study was to compare robotic versus conventional laparoscopic para-aortic lymphadenectomy in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer. In this monocentric retrospective study, we included patients with locally-advanced cervical cancer (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2009 stage IB2-IVA or IB1 with suspicious pelvic lymph nodes), who underwent a para-aortic lymphadenectomy up to the inferior mesenteric artery between December 1994 and December 2016 (robotic technique starting from December 2012). A total of 217 patients were included in the study (robotic, n=55 vs laparoscopic, n=162). When comparing conventional laparoscopic versus robotic para-aortic lymphadenectomy, the median age was 48 versus 49 years and the median body mass index was 24.4 vs 24.7 kg/m Robotic para-aortic lymphadenectomy in patients with locally-advanced cervical cancer resulted in better perioperative outcomes and similar survival outcomes when compared with a conventional laparoscopic approach.