Robotics in Oncology - The Future is Now

The last two decades have seen a paradigm shift in minimally invasive surgery with the widespread use of robotic surgery. There are now over 6000 da Vinci Robotic surgical systems in operation that have performed more than 8.5 million procedures worldwide.¹ Globally, the largest proportion of robotic surgery occurs in general surgery, urology, and gynecology.

In uro-oncology, robotic procedures are now the standard of care at most top medical centers, revolutionizing treatment outcomes. Globally, most radical prostatectomies today are being performed with surgical robots.² Outcomes for robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) have been extensively investigated and tend to support improved early functional outcomes. However, there is no consensus over the longer-term functional and oncological outcomes. Consequently, current guidelines acknowledge that while RARP has become the preferred minimally invasive approach, it does not currently advocate any one approach (open, laparoscopic, or robotic) over another.³

However, the penetration of robotic surgery into all the oncological sub-specialties has not been the same. There remains great scope for adopting, innovating, and implementing robotic technology in other oncological surgeries. One of the key factors for this disparity has been the high overhead costs of surgical robotics. With increased market competition, this barrier should hopefully be allayed, widening access to this amazing technology. Greater vision, better precision, and control are driving younger surgeons globally to adopt this technology over laparoscopic surgery.

Robotic use in other oncological sub-specialties is constantly evolving with a changing landscape. With wider acceptance and increasing confidence, the indications in head and neck cancers, gastrointestinal cancers, thoracic malignancies and gynecological cancers seem to be expanding. Improvements in commercial viability and accessibility will only further accelerate the translation of the current robotic systems to more surgical procedures.

Novel surgical platforms and technological models are continuously being introduced into the healthcare system. Often the development of these are in response to tight hospital budgets. Widespread acceptance of robotic technological solutions will be driven by the availability of reasonably priced technologies and cost-effective, profitable business models. Robotics-assisted technology holds the potential to support high volumes, lowering the procedure cost without manpower burnout. Using standard reusable instruments and open-platform architecture, the operating costs of these surgical robotic systems would help hospitals to leverage existing technology investments.³

Robotics in oncology serves as a platform for researchers and clinicians to publish their highly specialized work in the field of oncology to improve patient care and improvise oncological outcomes. With advances in machine learning/ artificial intelligence (AI), haptic feedback, robotics will continue to transform modern-day cancer surgery like never before. So, let's embrace technology today for a better tomorrow.