Efficacy and safety of minimally invasive surgery versus open laparotomy for epithelial ovarian cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the efficacy and safety of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and conventional abdominal surgery for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), stratified by treatment type.

METHODS

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted by an Expert Panel of the Japan Society of Gynecologic Oncology Ovarian Cancer Committee. Several academic databases, including PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Database, and Ichushi were searched by the Japan Medical Library Association on November 11, 2023, using the keywords "epithelial ovarian cancer", "minimally invasive surgery", "laparoscopic", and "robot-assisted". Articles describing MIS treatment for EOC compared with conventional abdominal surgery were independently assessed by two authors. The primary outcomes were survival and perioperative adverse events.

RESULTS

After screening 1114 studies, 35 articles were identified, including primary staging surgery (PSS) for early-stage EOC EOC (n = 20) and neoadjuvant chemotherapy following interval debulking surgery (NACT-IDS; n = 10) and upfront primary debulking surgery (PDS; n = 5) for advanced-stage EOC. These studies included 29,888 patients (7661 undergoing MIS and 22,227 undergoing abdominal surgery). Patients receiving MIS and abdominal surgery had similar overall survival (PSS: odds ratio [OR] 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.75-1.37; NACT-IDS: OR 0.93, 95%CI 0.25-3.44 and PDS: OR 0.66, 95%CI 0.36-1.22, all P > 0.05). MIS showed perioperative complication rates comparable to those of abdominal surgery (intraoperative and postoperative, all treatment types P ≥ 0.05). However, the rate of lymph node dissection in early-stage EOC (PSS: OR 0.49, 95%CI0.26-0.91) and multivisceral resections in advanced-stage EOC (NACT-IDS: OR 0.27 95%CI 0.16-0.44 and PDS: OR 0.27, 95%CI 0.16-0.44) was lower in MIS than in abdominal surgery (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

MIS did not negatively impact the survival and perioperative complications of patients with EOC compared to abdominal surgery. While MIS is a viable option, varied case selection and surgical procedures suggest potential bias, requiring further validation studies.