Impact of anaesthetic technique on survival in colon cancer: a review of the literature

An oncological surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment for potentially curable colon cancer. At the time of surgery, a large fraction of patients do harbour—although not visibly—minimal residual disease at the time of surgery. The immunosuppression that accompanies surgery may have an effect...

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Published inGastroenterology report Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 30 - 34
Main Authors Vogelaar, F. Jeroen, Lips, Daan J., van Dorsten, Frank R.C., Lemmens, Valery E., Bosscha, Koop
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Oxford University Press 01.02.2016
Subjects
Review
immunosuppression
colon cancer
epidural anaesthesia
survival
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Summary:An oncological surgical resection is the mainstay of treatment for potentially curable colon cancer. At the time of surgery, a large fraction of patients do harbour—although not visibly—minimal residual disease at the time of surgery. The immunosuppression that accompanies surgery may have an effect on disease recurrence and survival. Regional or neuraxial anaesthetic techniques like epidural anaesthesia may suppress immune function less than opioid analgesia, by reducing stress response and significantly reducing exposure to opioids. Consistent with this hypothesis, regional anaesthetic techniques have been associated with lower recurrence rates in breast cancer and prostate cancer. Results for colon cancer, however, are contradictory. In this review of the literature we describe all studies addressing the association of the use of epidural anaesthesia and survival in colon cancer surgery.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
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ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:2052-0034
2052-0034
DOI:10.1093/gastro/gov001