Recurrence outcomes of robotic versus laparoscopic surgery for gastric cancer: A multicenter study

While robotic-assisted gastrectomy (RAG) for gastric cancer demonstrates perioperative safety, its long-term oncologic efficacy relative to laparoscopic-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) requires robust evaluation. This multicenter retrospective study, conducted at eight tertiary referral teaching hospitals from January 2015 to June 2019, compared recurrence outcomes between RAG and LAG using propensity score-matched cohorts with 941 patients per group. The analysis revealed no significant differences in the overall postoperative 3-year recurrence rates (15.1% vs. 15.0%, p = 0.949), 3-year actual recurrence-free survival (83.7% vs. 83.2%), or time to recurrence (15.5 ± 8.1 vs. 16.1 ± 7.8 months, p = 0.572) between the RAG and LAG groups. Subgroup analyses stratified by age, extent of resection, and pathological stage consistently demonstrated comparable outcomes. These findings substantiate that RAG provides long-term recurrence outcomes equivalent to conventional laparoscopy, supporting its role as a viable minimally invasive alternative for resectable gastric cancer.