Laparoscopic Versus Open Nephroureterectomy for the Treatment of Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Cumulative Analysis of Comparative Studies

• Published in: European urology 2012-06, Vol.61 (6), p.1142-1153
• Main Authors: Ni, Shaobin, Tao, Weiyang, Chen, Qiyin, Liu, Lianxin, Jiang, Hongchi, Hu, Hailong, Han, Ruifa, Wang, Chunyang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Carcinoma - mortality; Carcinoma - secondary; Carcinoma - surgery; Cumulative analysis; Disease-Free Survival; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Laparoscopy; Laparoscopy - adverse effects; Laparoscopy - mortality; Linear Models; Medical sciences; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; Nephrectomy - adverse effects; Nephrectomy - methods; Nephrectomy - mortality; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Nephroureterectomy; Odds Ratio; Recurrence; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Survival; Survival Analysis; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Tumors of the urinary system; Upper urinary tract; Ureter - pathology; Ureter - surgery; Urinary system involvement in other diseases. Miscellaneous; Urinary tract. Prostate gland; Urologic Neoplasms - mortality; Urologic Neoplasms - pathology; Urologic Neoplasms - surgery; Urology; Urothelial carcinomas; Urothelium - pathology; Urothelium - surgery
• ISSN: 0302-2838; 1873-7560
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eururo.2012.02.019

Abstract Context Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy (LNU) has increasingly been used as a minimally invasive alternative to open nephroureterectomy (ONU), but studies comparing the efficacy and safety of the two surgical procedures are still limited. Objective Evaluate the oncologic and perioperative outcomes of LNU versus ONU in the treatment of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. Evidence acquisition A systematic review and cumulative analysis of comparative studies reporting both oncologic and perioperative outcomes of LNU and ONU was performed through a comprehensive search of the Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library electronic databases. All analyses were performed using the Review Manager (RevMan) v.5 (Nordic Cochrane Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark) and Meta-analysis In eXcel (MIX) 2.0 Pro (BiostatXL) software packages. Evidence synthesis Twenty-one eligible studies (1235 cases and 3093 controls) were identified. A significantly higher proportion of pTa/Tis was observed in LNU compared to ONU (27.52% vs 22.59%; p = 0.047), but there were no significant differences in other stages and pathologic grades (all p > 0.05). For patients who underwent LNU, the 5-yr cancer-specific survival (CSS) rate was significantly higher, at 9% ( p = 0.03), compared to those who underwent ONU, while the overall recurrence rate and bladder recurrence rate were notably lower, at 15% ( p = 0.01) and 17% ( p = 0.02), respectively. However, there were no statistically significant differences in 2-yr CSS, 5-yr recurrence-free survival (RFS), 5-yr overall survival (OS), 2-yr OS, and metastasis rates between LNU and ONU (all p > 0.05). Moreover, there were no significant differences between LNU and ONU in terms of intraoperative complications, postoperative complications, and perioperative mortality (all p > 0.05). The results of our study were mainly limited by the retrospective design of most of the individual studies included as well as selection biases based on different management of regional lymph nodes and pathologic characteristics. Conclusions Our data suggest that LNU offers reliable perioperative safety and comparable oncologic efficacy when compared to ONU. Given that some limitations cannot be overcome, well-designed prospective trials are needed to confirm our findings.