Background: Recently published studies suggest that the anesthetic technique used during oncologic surgery affects cancer recurrence. To evaluate the effect of anesthetic technique on disease progression and long-term survival, we compared patients receiving general anesthesia plus intraoperative and postoperative thoracic epidural analgesia with patients receiving general anesthesia alone undergoing open retropubic radical prostatectomy with extended pelvic lymph node dissection. Methods: Two sequential series were studied. Patients receiving general anesthesia combined with epidural analgesia (January 1994-June 1997, n=103) were retrospectively compared with a group given general anesthesia combined with ketorolac-morphine analgesia (July 1997-December 2000, n=158). Biochemical recurrence-free survival, clinical progression-free survival, cancer-specific survival, and overall survival were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier technique and compared using a multivariate Cox-proportional-hazards regression model and an alternative model with inverse probability weights to adjust for propensity score. Results: Using propensity score adjustment with inverse probability weights, general anesthesia combined with epidural analgesia resulted in improved clinical progression-free survival (hazard ratio, 0.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.27-0.75, P=0.002). No significant differences in the two groups were found for biochemical recurrence-free survival, cancer-specific survival, or overall survival. Higher preoperative serum values for prostate-specific antigen, specimen Gleason score of at least 7, non-organ-confined tumor stage, and positive lymph node status were independent predictors of biochemical recurrence-free survival. Conclusions: General anesthesia with epidural analgesia was associated with a reduced risk of clinical cancer progression. However, no significant difference was found between general anesthesia plus postoperative ketorolac-morphine analgesia and general anesthesia plus intraoperative and postoperative thoracic epidural analgesia in biochemical recurrence-free survival, cancer-specific survival, or overall survival.

A beneficial effect of regional anesthesia on cancer related outcome in various solid tumors has been proposed. The data on prostate cancer is conflicting and reports on long-term cancer specific survival are lacking. In a retrospective, single-center study, outcomes of 148 consecutive patients with locally advanced prostate cancer pT3/4 who underwent retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP) with general anesthesia combined with intra- and postoperative epidural analgesia (n=67) or with postoperative ketorolac-morphine analgesia (n=81) were reviewed. The median observation time was 14.00 years (range 10.87-17.75 yrs). Biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free, local and distant recurrence-free, cancer-specific, and overall survival were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier technique. Multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression models were used to analyze clinicopathologic variables associated with disease progression and death. The survival estimates for BCR-free, local and distant recurrence-free, cancer-specific survival and overall survival did not differ between the two groups (P=0.64, P=0.75, P=0.18, P=0.32 and P=0.07). For both groups, higher preoperative PSA (hazard ratio (HR) 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.02, P<0.0001), increased specimen Gleason score (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.06-1.46, P=0.007) and positive nodal status (HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.03-2.67, P=0.04) were associated with higher risk of BCR. Increased specimen Gleason score predicted death from prostate cancer (HR 2.46, 95% CI 1.65-3.68, P<0.0001). General anaesthesia combined with epidural analgesia did not reduce the risk of cancer progression or improve survival after RRP for prostate cancer in this group of patients at high risk for disease progression with a median observation time of 14.00 yrs.

There is evidence that perioperative intravenous lidocaine administration can reduce analgesic requirement, improve recovery of bowel function and shorten the length of hospital stay. Its effect in laparoscopic renal surgery has not been investigated. To evaluate the effect of systemic lidocaine on the length of hospital stay, readiness for discharge, opioid requirement, bowel function and inflammatory and stress response after laparoscopic renal surgery. Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Single tertiary centre where the study was carried out between July 2009 and February 2011. Sixty-four patients completed the study. Inclusion criteria were laparoscopic renal surgery and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I to III. Exclusion criteria were steroid therapy, chronic opioid therapy, allergy to lidocaine, pre-existing bowel dysfunction and arrhythmia. Lidocaine was given as a 1.5 mg kg(-1) bolus during induction of anaesthesia, followed by an intraoperative infusion of 2 and 1.3 mg kg(-1) h(-1) for 24 h postoperatively. Primary outcome was the length of hospital stay. Secondary outcomes were readiness for discharge, opioid consumption, sedation, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), return of bowel function and inflammatory and stress responses. Length of hospital stay. The length of hospital stay did not differ between the groups [6 days for the lidocaine group, interquartile range (IQR) 5 to 7, range 2 to 8 vs. 5 days for the placebo group, IQR 5 to 6, range 2 to 11; P = 0.24). Lidocaine had no effect on readiness for discharge [4 days for the lidocaine group (IQR 5 to 7, range 2 to 8) vs. 4 days for the placebo group (IQR 5 to 7, range 2 to 11); P = 0.26], opioid consumption, postoperative sedation, PONV, return of bowel function and plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein, procalcitonin and cortisol. Systemic perioperative lidocaine administration over 24 h did not influence the length of the hospital stay, readiness for discharge, opioid consumption, return of bowel function or inflammatory and stress responses after laparoscopic renal surgery. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00789620.