Meta-Analysis
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World J Meta-Anal. Aug 26, 2014; 2(3): 107-126
Published online Aug 26, 2014. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v2.i3.107
Comparison of functional outcomes after retropubic, laparoscopic and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: A meta-analysis
Ming-Jun Shi, Jie Yang, Xiang-Yu Meng, Sheng Li, Tao Liu, Zhi-Hai Fang, Rui Cao, Xing-Huan Wang
Ming-Jun Shi, Sheng Li, Tao Liu, Zhi-Hai Fang, Rui Cao, Xing-Huan Wang, Department of Urology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China
Jie Yang, Department of Radiation and Medical Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China
Xiang-Yu Meng, Department of Hematology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China
Author contributions: Shi MJ and Yang J contributed equally to this work; Shi MJ, Yang J, Li S and Meng XY performed the literature search, study selection and data extraction; Shi MJ, Wang XH, Liu T and Fang ZH analyzed the results; Shi MJ and Cao R did the statistical analysis; Shi MJ, Yang J and Meng XY drafted the manuscript; all authors provided input into the development of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81172734
Correspondence to: Xing-Huan Wang, Professor, Department of Urology, Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University, 169 Donghu Road, Wuchang, Wuhan 430071, Hubei Province, China. wangxinghuan1965@gmail.com
Telephone: +86-27-67813104 Fax: +86-27-67813104
Received: March 26, 2014
Revised: May 10, 2014
Accepted: June 18, 2014
Published online: August 26, 2014
Processing time: 182 Days and 22.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: This review directly compared the functional outcomes after retropubic, laparoscopic and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, both at 6-mo and 12-mo follow-up. Compared with the previous meta-analysis which reported a comparable potency recovery of robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RARP) vs laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP), our review obviously included more studies and ranked the three techniques into a superiority level: RARP > LRP > RRP (retropubic radical prostatectomy). In addition, we performed a quality assessment of the studies, separated evaluation of randomized control trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs, and subgroup analyses or meta-regression as a supplement, thus the risk of methodological bias was reduced considerably.