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The aim of this study was to compare laparoscopic and laparotomic surgical staging in patients with stage I epithelial ovarian cancer in terms of feasibility and safety. A retrospective chart review was undertaken of all patients with apparent stage I epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent laparoscopic (laparoscopy group) or laparotomic (laparotomy group) surgical staging at the Center for Uterine Cancer, National Cancer Center, Korea, between January 2001 and August 2006. During the study period, 19 patients underwent laparotomic surgical staging and 17 patients underwent laparoscopic surgical staging. No cases were converted from laparoscopy to laparotomy. The two groups were similar in terms of age, body mass index, procedures performed, number of lymph nodes retrieved, and operating time. The laparoscopy group had less estimated blood loss (P = 0.001), faster return of bowel movement (P < 0.001), and a shorter postoperative hospital stay (P = 0.002) compared to the laparotomy group. Transfusions were required only in two laparotomy patients, and postoperative complications occurred only in four laparotomy patients. However, two patients with stage IA grade 1 and 2 disease in laparoscopy group had recurrence with one patient dying of disease. The accuracy and adequacy of laparoscopic surgical staging were comparable to laparotomic approach, and the surgical outcomes were more favorable than laparotomic approach. However, the oncologic safety of laparoscopic staging was not certain. This is the first report on the possible hazards of laparoscopic staging in early-stage ovarian cancer. In the absence of a large prospective trial, this technique should be performed cautiously.

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We showed previously that caffeine adversely affects longitudinal bone growth and disrupts the histomorphometry of the growth plate during the pubertal growth spurt. However, little attention has been paid to the direct effects of caffeine on chondrocytes. Here, we investigated the direct effects of caffeine on chondrocytes of the growth plate in vivo and in vitro using a rapidly growing young rat model, and determined whether they were related to the adenosine receptor signaling pathway. A total of 15 male rats (21 days old) were divided randomly into three groups: a control group and two groups fed caffeine via gavage with 120 and 180 mg kg day for 4 weeks. After sacrifice, the tibia processed for the analysis of the long bone growth and proliferation of chondrocytes using tetracycline and BrdU incorporation, respectively. Caffeine-fed animals showed decreases in matrix mineralization and proliferation rate of growth plate chondrocytes compared with the control. To evaluate whether caffeine directly affects chondrocyte proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation, primary rat chondrocytes were isolated from the growth plates and cultured in either the presence or absence of caffeine at concentrations of 0.1-1 mm, followed by determination of the cellular proliferation or expression profiles of cellular differentiation markers. Caffeine caused significant decreases in extracellular matrix production, mineralization, and alkaline phosphatase activity, accompanied with decreases in gene expression of the cartilage-specific matrix proteins such as aggrecan, type II collagen and type X. Our results clearly demonstrate that caffeine is capable of interfering with cartilage induction by directly inhibiting the synthetic activity and orderly expression of marker genes relevant to chondrocyte maturation. In addition, we found that the adenosine type 1 receptor signaling pathway may be partly involved in the detrimental effects of caffeine on chondrogenic differentiation, specifically matrix production and mineralization, as evidenced by attenuation of the inhibitory effects of caffeine by blockade of this receptor. Thus, our study provides novel information on the integration of caffeine and adenosine receptor signaling during chondrocyte maturation, extending our understanding of the effect of caffeine at a cellular level on chondrocytes of the growth plate.

PurposeThyroid cancer is the most common malignancy in Korean females and can be treated with good prognosis. However, drugs to treat aggressive types of thyroid cancer such as poorly differentiated or anaplastic thyroid cancer have not yet been established. To that end, we analyzed the effects of berberine on human thyroid cancer cell lines to determine whether this compound is useful in the treatment of aggressive thyroid cancer.Materials and MethodsThe two thyroid cancer cell lines 8505C and TPC1, under adherent culture conditions, were treated with berberine and analyzed for changes in cell growth, cell cycle duration, and degree of apoptosis.ResultsFollowing berberine treatment, both cell lines showed a dose-dependent reduction in growth rate. 8505C cells showed significantly increased levels of apoptosis following berberine treatment, whereas TPC1 cells showed cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. Immunobloting of p-27 expression following berberine treatment showed that berberine induced a little up-regulation of p-27 in 8505c cells but relatively high up-regulation of p-27 in TPC1 cells.ConclusionThese results suggest that berberine treatment of thyroid cancer can inhibit proliferation through apoptosis and/or cell cycle arrest. Thus, berberine may be a novel anticancer drug for the treatment of poorly differentiated or anaplastic thyroid cancer.