Minimally Invasive Versus Open Adrenalectomy in Patients with Adrenocortical Carcinoma: A Meta-analysis

Open surgery remains the preferred surgical treatment of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), while the role of minimally invasive adrenalectomy surgery (MIS) in ACC is still controversial. The present study was conducted to compare MIS with open adrenalectomy (OA) in ACC.

The Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases were comprehensively searched. The weighted mean difference (WMD), relative risk (RR), and hazard ratio (HR) were pooled.

A total of 15 studies incorporating 2207 patients were included in the present study. MIS approaches were likely to have a comparable operation time (WMD − 17.77; p = 0.150) and postoperative complications (RR 0.74; p = 0.091) compared with OA, and were significantly associated with less blood loss (WMD − 1761.96; p = 0.016) and shorter length of stay (WMD − 2.96; p < 0.001). MIS approaches were also more likely to have an earlier recurrence (WMD − 8.42; p = 0.048) and more positive surgical margin (RR 1.56; p = 0.018) and peritoneal recurrence (RR 2.63; p < 0.001), while the overall recurrence (RR 1.07; p = 0.559) and local recurrence (RR 1.33; p = 0.160) were comparable between the two groups. Furthermore, surgical approaches did not differ in overall survival (HR 0.97; p = 0.801), cancer-specific survival (HR 1.04; p = 0.869), and recurrence/disease-free survival (HR 0.96; p = 0.791).

In the present study, MIS approaches were likely to have a better recovery. Although MIS approaches were associated with earlier recurrence and more positive surgical margin and peritoneal recurrence, no significant differences in survival outcomes were found. OA should still be considered as the standard treatment, but MIS approaches could be offered for selected ACC cases, and performed by surgeons with appropriate laparoscopic expertise, ensuring an improved survival for patients.