Robotic versus laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma: Propensity matched analysis of the National Cancer Database.

Abstract

104 Background: The use of robotic technology in gastrointestinal surgical oncology is on the rise. We compared the outcomes of laparoscopic (LG) and robotic gastrectomies (RG) performed for gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) in the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Methods: The NCDB database was queried for patients ≥ 18 years old with stage I-III GA who underwent LG or RG. Propensity matching was performed between the two groups with regards to clinical staging, adjuvant treatment, demographics, and the extent of surgery. Results: A cohort of 1893 (1262-LG, 631-RG) patients was identified in a 2:1 propensity matching. Demographics and co-morbidities were similar between the groups. The clinical staging and the extent of the surgery were well matched. The rate of negative margin as well 30 and 90-day mortality was similar between the two cohorts. Outcomes with respect to readmission and length of stay were also similar (Table 1). Long-term survival was not significantly different between the two cohorts, with a median survival of 49 months for LG cohort and 56.1 months in the RG cohort (p=0.405). Also, lymph node (LN) positivity was similar between the two groups (40.1 % 42.8%, p= 0.278) However, the average number of LN sampled was significantly higher in the RA group compared to the LA group (19.6 vs 17.4, p<0.001). Similarly, the percentage of surgeries in which ≥ 15 LNs were sampled was also greater in the RG group compared to the LG group (63.9% vs 57.6%, p=0.010). Conclusions: Greater number of patients in the RG group achieved NCCN guideline of harvesting ≥ 15 lymph nodes for more accurate staging. RG may allow a greater harvest of lymph nodes without increasing short term adverse outcomes compared to LG. Long term outcomes in this well matched cohort appears comparable for both approaches.