[Effect of anesthesia on tumor recurrence.]

Cancers cause nearly a quarter of all deaths in Hungary. The long-term success of tumor resection operations, i.e., the absence of recurrence and metastasis as well as survival, are also influenced by anesthetic methods. This was confirmed by experiments on cell cultures and animal models. Propofol and local anesthetics have been shown to reduce tumor cell viability and metastatic potential compared to inhalation anesthetics and opioids. However, studies conducted on patient groups only confirmed the advantage of propofol compared to inhalation anesthetics. Unfortunately, the epidural, additional use of local anesthetics for general anesthesia did not reduce the recurrence-free and survival time of the patients. Further clinical studies are necessary to reveal the actual effect of surgical anesthesia in each type of cancer in the future. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(22): 843-846.