MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY DOES NOT IMPROVE THE OUTCOME IN A MODEL OFRETROPERITONEAL MURINE NEUROBLASTOMA

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for cancer patients has become widely accepted in general surgery, however, it has not completely replaced the standard open operative procedures in pediatric oncology. The aim- of this study was to evaluate the host relationship following MIS in a murine model of retroperitoneal neuroblastoma (NB) Immature, 5- to 7- week-old male A/J mice weighing 18-23 g were inoculated with either C1 300 or TBJ NB in the left retroperitoneal space. At 4 days (early stag e) or 11 days (late stage) following tumor inoculation, the animals un derwent a laparotomy or pneumoperitoneum with carbon dioxide under gen eral inhalational anesthesia. Animal survival, tumor growth, and posto perative changes in body weight were observed. In the model of subcuta neous TBJ NB, distant metastases following the laparotomy or MIS techn ique were also evaluated. Each surgical group had a sample size greate r than or equal to 12, and data were statistically analyzed by ANOVA a nd the chi-square test where appropriate. P < 0.05 was considered to b e significant. There were no significant differences in animal surviva l, tumor growth, or distant metastases among surgical groups in any co mbination of type and stage of tumor. The only salutary influence of M IS was seen in a model of early-stage NB, where the decrease in body w eight on postoperative day 7 was preserved when compared to post-lapar otomy weight loss. We conclude that when compared to conventional lapa rotomy, the MIS access technique does not influence the outcome in a m odel of retroperitoneal murine NB.