Antitumor therapies based on Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) are an emerging medical field. In this work, we evaluated CAP effects on bladder cancer. Two bladder cancer cell lines were used, HT-1376 (stage III) and TCCSUP (stage IV). Cell proliferation assays were performed evaluating metabolic activity (MTT assay) and protein content (SRB assay). Cell viability, cell cycle, and mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) were assessed using flow cytometry. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were evaluated by fluorescence. The assays were carried out with different CAP exposure times. For both cell lines, we obtained a significant reduction in metabolic activity and protein content. There was a decrease in cell viability, as well as a cell cycle arrest in S phase. The Δψm was significantly reduced. There was an increase in superoxide and nitric oxide and a decrease in peroxide contents, while GSH content did not change. These results were dependent on the exposure time, with small differences for both cell lines, but overall, they were more pronounced in the TCCSUP cell line. CAP showed to have a promising antitumor effect on bladder cancer, with higher sensitivity for the high-grade cell line.
Objectives: Standard multi-port laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) is considered the gold standard for benign adrenal tumors. Single-site LA has been proposed as a feasible and safe alternative because of lower invasiveness, improved cosmetics, less pain and shorter hospital stay. The objective was to evaluate and compare results of single-site transumbilical laparoendoscopic adrenalectomy with standard LA for adrenal tumors. Materials and methods: One hundred consecutive adrenalectomies from 93 patients, performed between March 2009 and June 2017, were laparoscopically excised: 59 by standard multi-port LA (group 1) and 41 by transumbilical laparoendoscopic single-site adrenalectomy (group 2). Data gathered included demographics, comorbidities, preoperative imaging, tumor characteristics, perioperative data, surgical complications, pathology and follow-up. IBM SPSS Statistics 23 software was used and p value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Patients of group 2 were younger (48.7 ± 13.9 versus 59.7 ± 15.1 years; p < 0.001) and had fewer comorbidities (p < 0.05). Mean tumor diameter in group 2 was lower than those of group 1 (27.52 ± 14.3 versus 47.9 ± 30.6 mm; p < 0.001). Tumor laterality did not influence the choice of technique nor the surgical morbidity. All procedures were successfully completed, although one standard LA needed conversion to open surgery. Mean operative time, hemorrhagic losses, postoperative opioid analgesic requirement and hospital stay were not statistically different between groups. Most patients in group 2 (31 patients, 85.4%) did not require drainage, compared to 14 (25.4%) patients of group 1 (p < 0.001). Patients who underwent single-site LA resumed normal diet earlier (1.0 ± 0.2 versus 1.6 ± 0.7 days; p < 0.001). There were no reoperations and no perioperative mortality. Overall mean follow-up time was 94.9 ± 3.1 months, not statiscally different between groups (p = 0.7). Conclusions: Our results revealed that transumbilical approach for laparoendoscopic single-site adrenalectomy for adrenal tumors is a feasible and safe alternative to standard laparoscopic adrenalectomy.