One of the largest global studies showed that the risk of recurrence after curative breast cancer surgery was not reduced by regional anesthesia compared with general anesthesia with opioids. These results refute the assumption that anesthesia might have a negative effect on breast cancer recurrence.
Over a ten-year period, more than 2000 women who underwent curative breast cancer surgery were studied. The aim was to find out whether the method of anesthesia had an influence on the risk of recurrence. For this purpose, patients were regularly monitored over several years with regard to their recurrence rates. Regional anesthesia was shown to have no benefit on breast cancer recurrence. Both general and regional anesthesia are safe anesthetic procedures with very few side effects and complications, However, patients had less pain after paravertebral blockade and were less likely to suffer from postoperative nausea and vomiting.
Opioids better than their reputation
The use of opioids has come into disrepute after animal studies demonstrated a link between opioids and weakening of the immune system with subsequent effects on tumor growth. The present study results refute this assumption and emphasize the importance of opioids in therapy.
Source: ‘Anaesthesia for breast cancer surgery has no influence on risk of tumor recurrence’, 21 Oct 2019, Medical University of Vienna.
InFo ONCOLOGY & HEMATOLOGY 2019; 7(6): 42 (published 12/10/19, ahead of print).
