Introduction: As the medical field is moving towards personalized and tailored approaches, we entered the era of precision surgery for the management of genitourinary cancers1. This is facilitated by the implementation of new technologies, among which robotic surgery stands out for the significant impact in the surgical field over the last two decades. Areas covered: This article reviews the latest evidence on robotic surgery for the treatment of urologic cancers, including prostate, kidney, bladder, testis and penile cancer. Functional and oncologic outcomes, new surgical techniques, new imaging modalities and new robotic platforms are discussed.Expert opinion: Robotic surgery had a growing role in the management of genitourinary cancers over the past 10 years. Despite a lack of high-quality evidence comparing the effectiveness of robotic to open surgery, the robotic approach allowed a larger adoption of a minimally invasive surgical approach, translating into lower surgical morbidity and shorter hospital stay. New robotic platforms might allow to explore novel surgical approaches, and new technologies might facilitate surgical navigation and intraoperative identification of anatomical structures, allowing a more tailored and precise surgery. It is an exciting time for robotic surgery, and upcoming technological advances will offer better outcomes to urologic cancer patients.
Expert review of medical devices. 2020 Apr 28 [Epub ahead of print]
Ugo Falagario, Alessandro Veccia, Samuel Weprin, Emanuel V Albuquerque, William C Nahas, Giuseppe Carrieri, Vito Pansadoro, Lance J Hampton, Francesco Porpiglia, Riccardo Autorino
Division of Urology, VCU Health System, Richmond, Virginia, USA., Divisão de Urologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto do Câncer de Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil., Urology and Renal Transplantation Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy., Department of Urology, Vincenzo Pansadoro Foundation, Rome, Italy., Division of Urology, University of Turin, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, Italy.