Gender Differences in Robotic Surgery for Rectal Cancer: a Retrospective Study

In the researchers' words

Objective: To investigate gender-based differences in outcomes following robotic surgery for rectal cancer. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 155 patients (82 males, 73 females) who underwent robotic surgery for rectal cancer. Demographic, pre-operative, operative, and post-operative data were collected and analyzed. Pre-operative study: All patients underwent a standardized pre-operative work-up, which included a physical examination, comprehensive colonoscopy with biopsy, rigid rectoscopy, pelvic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, computed tomography (CT) of the thorax and abdomen, and measurement of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels. Tumor staging followed the TNM staging criteria (American Joint Committee on Cancer), with the T and N stages determined by the most advanced findings from any imaging modality Data collected: Retrospective evaluation and comparison of demographic characteristics, pre-operative TNM stage, distance from anal verge, tumor size, tumor grade, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, and body mass index (BMI) were conducted among both patient groups. Peri-operative and post-operative data, including morbidity and mortality, were assessed, alongside parameters such as distal resection margin (DRM), proximal resection margin (PRM), harvested lymph nodes (HLN), and Clavien-Dindo Classification (CDC) scores.…