Authors: Salib M et al.
Source
Cureus 17(11): e97114. November 17, 2025. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.97114
Summary
This review explores whether regional anesthesia can reduce cancer recurrence after surgery. The idea is biologically plausible: regional techniques blunt the stress response, reduce catecholamines and cortisol, limit opioid use, and may preserve immune function, especially natural killer cell activity. Local anesthetics may also have direct antitumor effects such as decreasing proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis.
Early laboratory and retrospective studies suggested possible reductions in recurrence and improved survival. However, newer and larger prospective studies have not confirmed a consistent benefit. The evidence remains mixed, largely due to heterogeneity across cancer types, anesthetic techniques, and study designs.
While regional anesthesia clearly improves perioperative pain control, reduces opioid needs, and enhances recovery, its role in preventing long-term cancer recurrence remains unproven. More large, tumor-specific randomized trials with mechanistic endpoints are required before firm conclusions can be made.
Key Points
• Regional anesthesia may theoretically reduce recurrence through immune preservation and stress reduction.
• Lab studies show antitumor effects of local anesthetics.
• Retrospective clinical evidence is inconsistent.
• Large prospective trials so far show no clear recurrence or survival benefit.
• RA remains valuable for analgesia and recovery but cannot yet be recommended to prevent cancer recurrence.
Thank you for allowing me to summarize this article from Cureus.