ReviewOchsner journal2017
The Relationship Between Regional Anesthesia and Cancer: A Metaanalysis.
Review in Ochsner journal, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04025840 (Effect of Perioperative Epidural Block and Dexamethasone on Outcome of Patients Undergoing Pancreatic Cancer Surgery), which is not on this map. Cited by 27 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effect of Perioperative Epidural Block and Dexamethasone on Outcome of Patients Undergoing Pancreatic Cancer Surgery: a 2×2 Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of regional anesthesia with oncological outcomes in patients receiving surgery for bladder cancer: A meta-analysis of observational studies.Frontiers in oncology · 2023Pooled it
- The Potential Effect of Lidocaine, Ropivacaine, Levobupivacaine and Morphine on Breast Cancer Pre-Clinical Models: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Comparative analysis of the analgesic effects of intercostal nerve block, ultrasound-guided paravertebral nerve block, and epidural block following single-port thoracoscopic lung surgery.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Review
- Application of tubeless anesthesia for enhanced recovery after thoracoscopic wedge resection of the lung: a randomized trial.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025Article
- Considerations for Care of the Cancer Patient.International anesthesiology clinics · 2025Article
- Combined General/Epidural Anesthesia vs. General Anesthesia on Postoperative Cytokines: A Review and Meta-Analysis.Cancers · 2025Review
- Anesthetic Approaches and Their Impact on Cancer Recurrence and Metastasis: A Comprehensive Review.Cancers · 2024Review
- The Role of Anesthetic Management in Lung Cancer Recurrence and Metastasis: A Comprehensive Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Review
- Review
- Anesthetics and Long Term Cancer Outcomes: May Epigenetics Be the Key for Pancreatic Cancer?Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2022Review
- Anesthesia and cancer recurrence: an overview.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2022Review
- Opioid-free anesthesia in oncologic surgery: the rules of the game.Journal of anesthesia, analgesia and critical care · 2022Review
- The Influence of Analgesic Modalities on Postoperative Cancer Recurrence.Anesthesiology and pain medicine · 2022Review
- Current Status and Prospects of Anesthesia and Breast Cancer: Does Anesthetic Technique Affect Recurrence and Survival Rates in Breast Cancer Surgery?Frontiers in oncology · 2022Review
- Anesthesia With Propofol Sedation Reduces Locoregional Recurrence in Patients With Breast Cancer Receiving Total Mastectomy Compared With Non-Propofol Anesthesia.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Article
- Anesthesia and Oncology: Friend or Foe?Frontiers in oncology · 2022Review
- Anesthetics or anesthetic techniques and cancer surgical outcomes: a possible link.Korean journal of anesthesiology · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSome studies have suggested using epidural analgesia after cancer surgery to reduce metastasis. This article examines the relationship between regional anesthesia (RA) and cancer metastasis in an array of cancers.
methodsWe conducted a review of the literature using PubMed and included 67,577 patients across 28 studies in a metaanalysis, evaluating the hazard ratios (HRs) of overall survival, recurrence-free survival, and biochemical recurrence-free survival.
resultsWe found no benefit to RA as it relates to cancer. The HR was 0.92 for overall survival, 1.06 for recurrence-free survival, and 1.05 for biochemical recurrence-free survival. Despite the overall analysis showing no benefit, we found some benefit when we evaluated only the randomized trials. However, we found no significant benefit of RA when we evaluated the cancers (gastrointestinal, prostate, breast, and ovarian) individually.
conclusionThis metaanalysis shows that RA has no overall survival, recurrence-free survival, or biochemical recurrence-free survival benefit. However, some individual studies have shown significant benefit in terms of cancer recurrence. Further, RA reduces the use of opioids, which has led to some secondary benefits. Further studies are needed to establish the benefits of RA as it relates to cancer.
Indexed as
Identifiers
29230120PMC5718448W2740491553What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.