ReviewCancers2025
Combined General/Epidural Anesthesia vs. General Anesthesia on Postoperative Cytokines: A Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Cancers, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Development of a Carprofen-Loaded Nanoemulsion for Topical Management of Post-Surgical Inflammation.Pharmaceutics · 2026Article
- The impact of potential food allergen exposure on wound healing after malignant tumor surgery: immune tolerance alterations and clinical risk assessment.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Impact of Combined Epidural-General Anesthesia on Perioperative Recovery After Hepatectomy for Liver Cancer: A Prospective Observational Study.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Minimizing acute kidney injury in cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy: institutional insights into goal-directed fluid therapy and epidural analgesia.World journal of surgical oncology · 2025Article
- Efficacy of a pubic superior ramus approach versus a distal approach for obturator nerve block in transurethral bladder tumor resection: a randomized controlled trial.American journal of translational research · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
objectivesLocal and systemic inflammation is common after surgery and is associated with morbidity and mortality. Inflammatory cytokines have been implicated in cancer metastasis following cancer surgery. The present study aimed to analyze inflammatory cytokines levels after surgery under combined epidural/general anesthesia (EA + GA) vs. general anesthesia (GA).
methodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Central, EMBASE, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and Web of Science citation indexes for clinical studies (cancer and non-cancer surgery) comparing the two techniques. We carried out a meta-analysis to evaluate the postoperative plasma levels of cytokines, C-reactive protein (CRP), and cortisol levels.
resultsThe literature search was last updated on 2 January 2025. We identified a total of 21 studies which compared postoperative inflammatory mediators with EA plus GA compared to GA alone. EA plus GA was associated with significantly lower serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, CRP, as well as cortisol and other pro-inflammatory cytokines. In cancer surgery, EA plus GA was also associated with lower postoperative cytokines.
conclusionsOur meta-analysis indicates that EA plus GA is associated with diminished postoperative inflammatory response. This offers an alternative explanation for the benefit of epidural analgesia on postoperative outcomes. Considering the link between postoperative inflammation and recurrence after cancer surgery, this is an area that warrants further research.
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