REVIEW  RECTAL CANCER TREATMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY 

Minerva Chirurgica 2018 December;73(6):574-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4733.18.07773-8

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Robotic surgery for rectal cancer: the future?

Tarik SAMMOUR ¹, George J. CHANG ^{2, 3} ✉

¹ Colorectal Unit, Department of Surgery, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia; ² Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA; ³ Minimally Invasive and New Technologies in Oncologic Surgery (MINTOS) Program, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

Robotic technology currently offers some technical advantages in pelvic dissection compared with competing minimally invasive techniques, and adoption for the surgical treatment of rectal cancer is rapidly increasing worldwide. While there are some early data demonstrating modest improvement in patient outcomes, benefits in terms of long-term oncological outcomes, as well as potential improvements in surgeon-centered outcomes such as fatigue and repetitive stress injury are actively being investigated. Rapid innovation, with the impending release of several new robotic platforms, is likely to further expand the application of these technologies, improve on current limitations, and reduce capital and consumable costs. It is imperative that, as the technology develops and adoption increases further, clinician and research led programs drive safe implementation with a patient-first approach.

KEY WORDS: Robotic surgical procedures - Rectal neoplasms - Minimally invasive surgical procedures