Abstract
As robot-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC) is emerging as a viable surgical technique for bladder cancer, it is imperative to evaluate oncologic outcomes as it compares to the gold standard of open radical cystectomy (ORC). For cancer-specific survival and recurrence-free survival, long-term data is lacking; however, medium-term data shows similar cancer-specific survival and overall survival with median follow-up as far out as 3 years. With regards to surrogates for oncologic efficacy, namely surgical margin status and lymph node yield, we present collective data from several large RARC series showing comparable rates of positive surgical margins and similar lymph node yields. We also examine several head to head comparisons of RARC compared to open radical cystectomy, which show similar oncologic outcomes. As long term data matures and more randomized controlled studies directly comparing RARC to ORC come to fruition, we will have more data potentially confirming that RARC provides equivalent oncologic outcomes to ORC.