Table 2.
Summary of clinical studies assessing the effects of different regional anesthetic techniques on cancer outcomes
| Ref | Year | Study type | Intervention | Cancer type | Patients | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [199] | 2021 | RCT | Epidural | Lung | n = 400 | No difference in RFS (HR 0.9, 95% CI 0.60–1.35, p = 0.61) or OS (HR 1.12, 95% CI 0.64–1.96, p = 0.70) |
| [234] | 2021 | RCT | Epidural | Thoracic, Abdominal | n = 1802 | No difference in RFS (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.84–1.12, p = 0.69) or OS (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.93–1.28, p = 0.29) |
| [197••] | 2019 | RCT | PVB | Breast | n = 2132 | No difference in cancer recurrence (HR 0.97, 95% CI 0.74–1.28, p = 0.84) |
| [235] | 2019 | Retrospective | Epidural | Colon | n = 225 | Decreased RFS (HR 0.73; 95% CI 0.54–0.99, p = 0.028) in epidural group |
| [236] | 2018 | Retrospective | Epidural | Colon | n = 999 | No difference in RFS (HR 1.06, 95% CI 0.87–1.29, p = 0.92) or OS (HR 0.9, 95% CI 0.68–1.20, p = 0.48) |
| [237] | 2018 | Retrospective | Spinal | Bladder | n = 231 | Increased cancer recurrence (HR 2.06, 95% CI 1.14–3.74, p = 0.017) in GA group. No difference in OS |
| [238] | 2018 | Retrospective | Epidural | Ovarian | n = 648 | Increased OS (HR 1.67; 95% CI 1.36–2.04, p < 0.001) and RFS (HR 1.33; 95% CI 1.11–1.59, p = 0.021) in epidural group |
| [239] | 2018 | Retrospective | Scalp block | Glioblastoma | n = 808 | No difference in RFS (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.80–1.20, p = 0.89) or OS (HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.82–1.26, p = 0.85) |
| [240] | 2017 | RCT | PVB | Breast | n = 180 | No difference in metastasis (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.21–2.96, p = 0.88) or OS (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.11–3.97, p = 0.15) |
| [241] | 2017 | Retrospective | Epidural | Gastrectomy | n = 4218 | Improved OS in epidural group (HR 0.65, 95% CI 0.58–0.73, p < 0.001) |
| [242] | 2017 | Retrospective | Spinal | Bladder | n = 876 | Decreased cancer recurrence (HR 0.636, p < 0.001) in spinal group |
| [243] | 2017 | Retrospective | PVB | Lung | n = 1729 | Increased OS (HR 0.60; 95% CI 0.45–0.79, p = 0.002) in PVB group. No difference in RFS |
| [244] | 2017 | Retrospective | Scalp block | Glioblastoma | n = 119 | Increased RFS (HR 0.31; 95% CI 0.07–0.21, p < 0.001) in scalp block group |
RCT, randomized controlled trial; PVB, paravertebral block; OS, overall survival; RFS, recurrence-free survival; HR, hazard ratio