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Comparing oncologic outcomes after minimally invasive and open surgery for pediatric neuroblastoma and Wilms tumor
Brian Ezekian1, Brian R Englum1, Brian C Gulack1
1Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
Background:
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has been widely adopted for common operations in pediatric surgery; however, its role in childhood tumors is limited by concerns about oncologic outcomes. We compared open and MIS approaches for pediatric neuroblastoma and Wilms tumor (WT) using a national database.
Methods:
The National Cancer Data Base from 2010 to 2012 was queried for cases of neuroblastoma and WT in children ≤21 years old. Children were classified as receiving open or MIS surgery for definitive resection, with clinical outcomes compared using a propensity matching methodology (two open:one MIS).
Results:
For children with neuroblastoma, 17% (98 of 579) underwent MIS, while only 5% of children with WT (35 of 695) had an MIS approach for tumor resection. After propensity matching, there was no difference between open and MIS surgery for either tumor for 30-day mortality, readmissions, surgical margin status, and 1- and 3-year survival. However, in both tumors, open surgery more often evaluated lymph nodes and had larger lymph node harvest.
Conclusion:
Our retrospective review suggests that the use of MIS appears to be a safe method of oncologic resection for select children with neuroblastoma and WT. Further research should clarify which children are the optimal candidates for this approach.
