Short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic versus open surgery for rectal cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The present meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the short- and long-term outcomes of laparoscopic surgery (LS) versus open surgery (OS) for rectal cancer. PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, were searched for eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to June 2017. Operation related index, postoperative complication, and long-term survival rate and disease-free survival rate were evaluated by meta-analytical techniques. Nine RCTs enrolling 4126 patients were included in the present meta-analysis. Compared to OS, LS had similar positive circumferential resection margin (CRM) and number of lymph nodes extracted (LNE) as well as long term 5 years survival rate and disease-free survival rate, but of which the risk tendency was higher in LS group. The short-term outcomes of major and total postoperative complication were lower in LS group. LS for rectal cancer was as safe and effective as OS in terms of long-term outcomes, but with lower postoperative complication.