Comparison of the Efficacy of Minimally Invasive and Open Surgery on Children with Neuroblastoma: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose: Evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and open surgery in the treatment of neuroblastoma (NB) in children by a meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: This is a meta-analysis. We searched for random or nonrandomized controlled study of MIS group and OPEN surgery group for the treatment of childhood NB included in PubMed, ClinicalTrials, EMBASE, and Cochrane library before January 31, 2020. Data extraction was performed in a standard format for the included studies, including tumor diameter, operation time, intraoperative bleeding, length of hospital stay (LOHS), complications, recurrence, and MYCN. Results: Seven retrospective studies were finally included, with a total of 571 children, including 162 in MIS group and 409 in the OPEN surgery group. Compared with the OPEN surgery group, the MIS group had reduced intraoperative bleeding (mean difference [MD] = −12.72, 95% CI: −24.84 to −0.61, P < .05), and reduced l LOHS (MD = −3.35, 95% CI: −5.55 to −1.15, P < .05) and decreased postoperative recurrence (MD = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.05–0.75, P < .05). The differences between the groups were statistically significant. There was no significant difference between groups in tumor diameter (MD = −18.84, 95% CI: −48.12 to 10.43, P > .05), operation time (MD = −21.7, 95% CI: −97.52 to 54.13, P > .05), and MYCN results (odds ratio = 2.27, 95% CI: 0.56–9.18, P > .05). Conclusions: Preliminary evidence indicates that the treatment of NB with MIS has the advantages of less intraoperative bleeding, shorter LOHS, and less postoperative recurrence compared with open surgery.