With interest we read the recently published article by Park et al, who reported the results of a metaanalysis of surgical outcomes in patients with apparent early-stage ovarian cancer that was staged by laparoscopy. Well-known advantages of the laparoscopic approach (eg, reduced blood loss) were confirmed, and it was stated that “the operative outcomes of a laparoscopic approach in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer could be compatible with those of laparotomy.” Despite the fact that the advantages of laparoscopy are of great benefit for patients with benign diseases and in selected patients with endometrial cancer and cervical cancer, its merit in early ovarian cancer is debatable. The ACTION trial has shown that the quality of surgical staging was associated with outcome in patients with early ovarian cancer. Park et al reported mostly about retrospective single-arm laparoscopy studies with up-staging rates of 22.6% in supposed early ovarian cancer. This frequency appears low compared with recently published data that show up-staging rates of 50% in patients who undergo comprehensive staging (ie, laparotomy with peritoneal washings, thorough inspection and palpation of the whole abdominal cavity, biopsy specimens from all suspicious areas and adhesions, peritoneal biopsy specimens from nonsuspicious regions, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, hysterectomy, at least infracolic omentectomy, appendectomy [in mucinous and intraoperatively unknown tumor types] and systematic bilateral pelvic and paraaortic lymphadenectomy up to the renal veins). Tumor residuals in the abdominal cavity or in retained lymph nodes might be the seed of recurrent disease, and insufficient staging might lead to the underestimation of recurrence risk therefore to insufficient chemotherapy. Consequently, several guidelines (eg, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Gynäkologische Onkologie, Germany) have defined laparotomy as the standard procedure for staging surgery in early ovarian cancer. In our opinion, currently available data do not support the conclusion by Park et al, and the oncologic safety is ascertained only if diseases are staged as described.