The mechanism of propofol in cancer development: An updated review

Cancer is a key cause of death worldwide. Despite the development of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and even immunotherapy, surgery remains the standard treatment for cancer patients. Recently, many studies have shown that propofol, a commonly used anesthetic drug, can affect the prognosis of cancer. In this review, we provide an overview of the molecular mechanisms of propofol in the development of cancer. Propofol not only affects epigenetic pathways, such as those involving miRNA, lncRNA and histone acetylation, but also modulates genetic signaling pathways, including the hypoxia, NF-κB, MAPK, SLUG and Nrf2 pathways. In addition, propofol influences the immune function of patients and impacts the degree of immunosuppression. Furthermore, we briefly summarize the clinical trials on the effect of propofol in cancer development. Ultimately, further studies distinguishing the types of tumors in clinical trials are needed to clarify the correlation between propofol and cancer.