Advancing Childhood Cancer Treatment: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Robotic-Assisted Surgery

This paper investigates the shift from regular robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) to AI-driven surgeries for childhood cancer and neonatal cancer, cancer that occurs in the first month of life. This paper examines patterns and trends in peer-reviewed sources to evaluate the differences in effectiveness between traditional treatment and robotic-assisted surgery to determine which yields the best, most efficient outcomes. Traditional treatments such as open surgery and chemotherapy present challenges that hinders its effectiveness and outcomes in cancer patients. While robotic-assisted surgery improves precision, recovery time, and many other factors, it is limited by high costs and primarily its lack of haptic feedback. This review analyzes the evaluation of how AI integration addresses these limitations through improved imaging and enhanced tactile feedback. Findings suggest that AI-assisted RAS overall outperforms regular RAS and traditional treatments, reducing complications and increasing surgical efficiency. Even though it presents promising outcomes, unequal access and ethical concerns remain a major setback. Ultimately, AI-enhanced robotic-assisted surgery represents an advancement toward a safer, more efficient form of treatment for pediatric cancer.