Detailed characteristics of included studies
| Study number | First author (publication year) | Countries | Number of centres | Number of patients randomised | Type of MIO | Primary outcome* (timing of outcome) | |
| Open | MIO | ||||||
| 1a | Biere (2012) | Netherlands /Spain/Italy | 5 | 56 | 59 | Total | Pulmonary infection (2 weeks) |
| 1b† | Maas (2014) | Netherlands | 1 | 13 | 14 | Stress response measurements (1 day) | |
| 1c† | Maas (2015) | Netherlands /Spain/Italy | 5 | 56 | 59 | HRQL (1 year) | |
| 1d† | Biere (2017) | 56 | 59 | Factors associated with respiratory infections (not stated) | |||
| 1e† | Straatman (2017) | 56 | 59 | Overall survival (3 years) | |||
| 2 | Guo (2013) | China | 1 | 110 | 111 | Total | Length of operation (not applicable) |
| 3 | Hong (2013) | China | 1 | 59 | 55 | Total | Pulmonary infection (2 weeks) |
| 4 | Paireder (2018) | Austria | 1 | 13 | 16 | Hybrid laparoscopy and thoracotomy | Morbidity and mortality (4 weeks) |
| 5 | Ma (2018) | China | 1 | 97 | 47 | Total | Morbidity (not stated) |
| 6 | van der Sluis (2019) | Netherlands | 1 | 56 | 56 | Total robot-assisted | Morbidity (2 weeks) |
| 7a | Mariette (2019) | France | 13 | 104 | 103 | Hybrid laparoscopy and thoracotomy | Morbidity (4 weeks) |
| 7b‡ | Mariette (2019) | 104 | 103 | HRQL (3 years) | |||
| 8 | Zhang (2020) | China | 1 | 50 | 50 | Total | Length of operation (not applicable) |
| 9 | Yu (2022) | China | 1 | 45 | 45 | Total | Length of operation (not applicable) |
*If primary outcome was not specified, the first outcome listed in the abstract is given. For ancillary studies and substudies, this will differ from the original trial and will be the main outcome reported.
†Ancillary and sub-studies of Biere et al. 26
‡Publication of secondary outcomes.
HRQL, health-related quality of life; MIO, minimally invasive oesophagectomy.