Improving oncological outcomes after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: what novel tools do we have?

Abstract

The recent application of novel technologies to the robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) procedure has provided a new perspective and demonstrated potential usefulness in surgical planning, intraoperative navigation, and education of both patients and healthcare professionals, allowing for a patient-tailored prostate cancer (PCa) treatment. Integration of novel techniques into robotic surgery has improved the accuracy of surgery and has demonstrated a potential benefit in functional and oncological outcomes in patients with PCa. However, further randomized and prospective studies are needed to assess and validate the role of these technologies in clinical practice. The aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence on the new emerging techniques, such as three-dimensional (3D) imaging and printing, augmented reality (AR), and confocal microscopy (CM), and their impact on RARP and its oncological outcomes.

Oncological outcomes in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: the value of PSA density as a preoperative predictive factor

“… 1 – 3 Radical prostatectomy (RP) is one of the mainstays of treatment for localized PCa, and the robot-assisted procedure has been adopted as the preferred surgical approach during the last decade. 4 , 5 In this setting, entering the era of precision surgery and individualized medicine, 6 , 7 pretreatment assessment of the clinical and pathological features of patients with localized PCa is of paramount importance to determine their prognosis and design the most optimal and individualized therapeutic strategy. The current established risk stratification system based on serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, biopsy Gleason score, and clinical tumor stage identifies patients with unfavorable preoperative pathological factors and classifies them in low-, intermediate,- and high-risk groups according to pretreatment risk of recurrence.…”

Improving the surgical care of prostate cancer patients through reflection on clinical data

“…In recent years, 3D models have been introduced in PCa care for simulation, training, and patient education [74][75][76][77][78]. Other studies explored the use of 3D models in the (surgical) treatment of prostate cancer [79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89].…”