Can Regional Anesthesia and Analgesia Prolong Cancer Survival After Orthopaedic Oncologic Surgery?

The perioperative period of major oncologic surgery is characterized by immunosuppression, angiogenesis, and an increased load of circulating malignant cells. It is a window period in which cancer cells may seed, invade, and proliferate. Thus, it has been hypothesized that the use of regional anesthesia with the goal of reducing surgical stress and opioid and volatile anesthetic consumption would avoid perioperative immune suppression and angiogenesis and ultimately cancer recurrence.