Survival outcomes in patients with cervical cancer treated with open versus robotic radical hysterectomy: Our surgical pathology interrogation

To compare the survival outcomes and surgical radicality between women who underwent open versus robotic radical hysterectomy (RH) for early cervical cancer. In this institutional retrospective study, patients with clinical stage IA2- IIA (FIGO 2009) squamous cell, adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix who underwent either open or robotic RH between 2000 and 2017 were identified. Parametrial width and vaginal length were re-measured from pathology slides. An inverse propensity score weighting model was used to adjust selection bias. A total of 333 patients were included (181 open, 152 robotic). The median follow-up time was 130 months for the open group and 53 months for the robotic group. There were 31 (17.1%) recurrences in the open and 21 (13.8%) in the robotic group. The 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) for the robotic and open group were 79.0% and 90.5%, respectively (HR 2.37, 95% CI 1.40–4.02). Five-year overall survival (OS) were 85.8% and 95.3%, respectively (HR 3.17, 95% CI 1.76–5.70). The mean parametrial width was similar between the open and robotic groups (2.5 vs 2.4 cm, p = 0.99). Unique recurrences (38.1%, 8/21) were noted in the robotic group: 2 port-site, 4 peritoneal, and 2 carcinomatosis. The time to vaginal recurrence was shorter in the robotic group than the open group (p = 0.001). Patients who underwent robotic RH had inferior PFS and OS compared to open surgery. Surgical radicality according to pathology measurements was similar between the two approaches. •Robotic radical hysterectomy has an inferior survival compared to open RH for patients with stage IA2-IIA cervical cancer.•Parametrial width and vaginal length were similar between robotic and open RH tissue specimens by pathologic review.•Of the recurrences in the robotic group, 38.1% were abdominal implants or carcinomatosis, a pattern unique to MIS.