Impact of analgesia on cancer recurrence and mortality within 5 years after stage I non-small cell lung cancer resection

Objective: The choice of analgesia after cancer surgery may play a role in the onset of cancer recurrence. Particularly opioids seem to promote cancer cell proliferation and migration. Based on this consideration, we assessed the impact of perioperative analgesia choice on cancer recurrence after curative surgery for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of all patients undergoing lung resection for stage I NSCLC between January 2005 and December 2012. Patients received analgesia either by peridural (PERI group) or intravenous analgesia with opioids (EV group). Follow-up was concluded in August 2019. Five-year cumulative incidence of recurrence and overall survival were evaluated and adjusted using a propensity score matching method. Results: A total of 382 patients were evaluated, 312 belonging to the PERI group (81.7%) and 70 to the EV group (18.3%). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in 5-year cumulative incidence of recurrence (p = 0.679) or overall survival rates (p = 0.767). These results were confirmed after adjustment for propensity score matching for cumulative incidence of recurrence (p = 0.925) or overall survival (p = 0.663). Conclusions: We found no evidence suggesting an association between perioperative analgesia choice and recurrence-free survival or overall survival in patients undergoing surgical resection of stage I NSCLC.