Health-related quality of life is not related to laparoscopic or robotic technique in radical cystectomy

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Evaluating health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) is important in urological oncology. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of minimally invasive radical cystectomy (RC) on the patients' QoL depending on the surgical strategy (laparoscopic compared to robotic). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved 110 patients divided into 2 groups: group 1 (n = 65), qualified for robotic-assisted RC (RARC), and group 2 (n = 45), qualified for laparoscopic RC (LRC). A prospective analysis of QoL was performed. In the study, we used sociodemographic data taken from the patients' medical records, and data from standardized questionnaires of QoL surveys entitled Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for Bladder Cancer (FACT-Bl). RESULTS: In the patients who had undergone LRC, a statistically significant difference in HR-QoL was noted only for the subjective well-being (SWB) domain regarding family and social life: The patients had higher SWB values before surgery than after it. In the patients who had undergone RARC, statistically significant differences in HR-QoL were noted in 3 domains: 1) SWB - family and social life, 2) FACT-Bl assessment and 3) FACT-G assessment. Both before and after surgery, no statistically significant differences were found between the 2 groups for any of the HR-QoL domains. CONCLUSIONS: The surgical technique of minimally invasive endoscopic RC used (laparoscopic or robotic) does not affect HR-QoL domains.