• Junichi Saito, Joe Masters, Kazuyoshi Hirota, and Daqing Ma.
• Department of Anesthesiology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan.
• Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2019 Oct 1; 32 (5): 553-562.

Purpose Of ReviewAnesthetics may influence cancer recurrence and metastasis following surgery by modulating the neuroendocrine stress response or by directly affecting cancer cell biology. This review summarizes the current evidence on whether commonly used anesthetics potentially affect postoperative outcomes following solid organ cancer surgery with particular focus on neurological malignancies.Recent FindingsDespite significant improvement in diagnostic and therapeutic technology over the past decades, mortality rates after cancer surgery (including brain tumor resection) remains high. With regards to brain tumors, interaction between microglia/macrophages and tumor cells by multiple biological factors play an important role in tumor progression and metastasis. Preclinical studies have demonstrated an association between anesthetics and brain tumor cell biology, and a potential effect on tumor progression and metastasis has been revealed. However, in the clinical setting, the current evidence is inadequate to draw firm conclusions on the optimal anesthetic technique for brain tumor surgery.SummaryFurther work at both the basic science and clinical level is urgently needed to evaluate the association between perioperative factors, including anesthetics/technique, and postoperative brain tumor outcomes.

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