Influence of CO2 pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopic surgery on cancer cell growth

Background: CO2 pneumoperitoneum provides a new surgical environment to treat malignant disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of CO2 pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopic surgery on cancer cell growth, Methods: WiDr human colon cancer cells were incubated for 3 h under the following two conditions: 100% CO2 at 10 mmHg, and 95% air/5% CO2 (control). Cell proliferation was assessed by the WST-1 assay and BrdU assay. Tumor growth was: assessed by subcutaneous injection into 20 nude mice. Cellular damage was measured by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. Results. The number of WiDr cells under pneumoperitoneal conditions decreased in the first 24 h. However, no significant difference was observed in the proliferation rate and tumor growth of the viable cells. LDH release of the CO2 pneumoperitoneal group was higher than that of the controls. Conclusions: Our data indicate that CO2 pneumoperitoneum does not promote cancer cell proliferation but instead has a toxic effect on cancer cells.