In Korea, robot-assisted surgery uncovered by national health insurance has been often utilized in various areas such as urology, general surgery, obstetrics, gynecology, and thoracic surgery since it received Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approval in 2005. 

Compared with conventional open surgery, the benefits of robot-assisted surgery are as follows: low risk of infection, preventing excessive blood loss, minimized surgical related scars, and recovery faster for small incision.

However, as there is large variation in surgical outcomes depending on the individual surgeon's rate of learning so that those who want to use the technology for their patients should overcome the learning curve. In addition, because of tactile limited, the side effects, such as perforations or organ injury, have been frequently reported.

Experts in Korea have raised concerns about safety of the robot-assisted surgery procedures, pointing out that it is not cost-effective compared to existing technologies.

This study is intended to evaluate safety and effectiveness of the robot-assisted surgery to five kinds of cancer disease (prostate cancer, kidney cancer, rectal cancer, gastric cancer, and thyroid cancer) which are the most frequently performed in Korea, through domestic cohort data analysis and systematic literature review.

The results of this study might be used as valuable resources in the clinical decision-making related to robot-assisted surgeries, and it is also expected to be used as primary information for establishing the relevant national health care policy.