Background: This study aimed to evaluate the surgical and oncological outcomes of robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) versus open radical cystectomy (ORC) using trifecta and pentafecta parameters.
Methods: The clinical data of 41 patients who underwent RARC between 2018 and 2022 were prospectively collected and retrospectively compared to those of 330 patients undergoing ORC using 1:1 propensity score matching. Trifecta was defined as simultaneous negative surgical margins (SMs), a lymph node (LN) yield ≥ 16, and the absence of major complications (Clavien-Dindo grade III-V) within 90 days postoperatively. Pentafecta additionally included a 12-month recurrence-free rate and a time between the transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TURBT) and radical cystectomy (RC) ≤ 3 months. The continuous variables were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test, and the categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-squared test.
Results: No statistically significant differences in trifecta and pentafecta success rates were observed between the RARC and ORC cohorts after propensity score matching. However, the RARC group exhibited significantly reduced blood loss (RARC: 317 mL vs. ORC: 525 mL, p = 0.01).
Conclusions: RARC offers distinct advantages over ORC in terms of reduced blood loss, while trifecta and pentafecta success rates do not differ significantly between the two surgical approaches.
Keywords: bladder cancer; open radical cystectomy; propensity score matched; robot-assisted radical cystectomy; robotic surgery.