Higher Long-Term Quality of Life Metrics After VATS Lobectomy Compared to Robotic-Assisted Lobectomy

Abstract Background Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) lung lobectomy has emerged as an alternative approach to video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) comparing these approaches have been limited. Methods At a single, high-volume academic center, patients undergoing VATS and RATS lobectomies for Stage I and II non-small cell lung cancer from 2014 to 2018 were evaluated. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30), EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire in Lung Cancer (QLQ-LC13), and Fear of Recurrence (FoR) survey were administered preoperatively, and at 1, 6 and 12 months post-operation. Raw scores underwent linear transformation (0-100 scale). Linear mixed-effects models were used for QoL and FoR score comparisons. Results 219 patients (139 VATS and 80 RATS) were included. RATS patients had longer (p Conclusions VATS patients report improvement in select QoL and FoR measures following lobectomy. Further study comparing these two approaches is required.