Robot-assisted laparoscopic implantation of brachytherapy catheters in bladder cancer recent interests and prospective

Abstract

Bladder cancer is the most common cancer of the urinary tract. It is the ninth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide, with more than 380,000 new cases each year and more than 150,000 deaths per year (1). About 25% of the diagnosed cases present with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) (2). Radical cystectomy (RC) and urinary diversion is considered the gold standard treatment for muscle-invasive urinary bladder cancer. RC is an extensive urological surgical procedure and despite improvements in practice, technology and post-operative care it is still associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Significant complications include such as erectile dysfunction, urinary leakage, urinary tract infection, loss of normal bladder function, and risk of death. It is associated with widely variable reported postoperative morbidity and mortality rates between 19% to 64% and 0.8% to 8.3%, respectively (3).