A systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the influence of surgical method on specimen margins and biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy for high-risk prostate cancer.

65Background: To date there is no robust evidence comparing the outcomes of robotic and open radical prostatectomies in patients with high-risk prostate cancer. The purpose of this study is to perform a meta-analysis comparing the rates of positive surgical margins (PSM) and biochemical recurrence (BCR) between open radical prostatectomy (ORP) and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) in patients with high-risk prostate cancer. Methods: A systematic review was performed on Pubmed, Embase and Scopus databases in August 2016, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement. References retrieved were evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale and the Black and Down’s tool for quality assessment. Nine retrospective cohorts comparing ORP and RARP were selected and included in the meta-analysis. Results: Nine studies reported the PSMs. Patients treated with RARP presented less risk of PSMs (risk difference -0.04, p 0.02) than those treated with ORP. Fi...