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Highlights The immune factors that determine the pathological and therapeutic effects of preoperative chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer are associated with local and systemic immune responses in the presence of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, in collaboration with downregulation of immunosuppressive factors mediated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) in regulatory T cells (Tregs) in the tumor microenvironment. Multivariate analysis showed that grade 2 and better therapeutic effects tended to be associated with higher natural killer cell levels after preoperative chemotherapy (odds ratio = 1.02; 95% confidence interval, 0.99–1.05; p = 0.07). Therapy targeting VEGF and CTLA-4 in Tregs to overcome tumor-derived immunosuppression may enhance the pathological and therapeutic responses to preoperative chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer.

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Advances in surgical and anesthetic techniques have allowed for outpatient treatment of breast cancer. We evaluated the feasibility, safety, efficacy, and surgical outcomes of outpatient surgery in 370 patients with breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving surgery (BCS)/axillar lymph node (ALN) management. There were no deaths or severe intraoperative complications, but 41 complications were observed and disease recurrence occurred in 18 patients. The cumulative overall survival rate was 95.2%. Outpatient surgery was well tolerated, feasible, and safe in patients receiving BCS/ALN management.

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The relationship between the anesthetic technique and cancer recurrence has not yet been clarified in cancer surgery. Surgical stress and inhalation anesthesia suppress cell-mediated immunity (CMI), whereas intravenous (IV) anesthesia with propofol and regional anesthesia (RA) are known to be protective for CMI. Surgical stress, general anesthesia (GA) with inhalation anesthesia and opioids contribute to perioperative immunosuppression and may increase cancer recurrence and decrease survival. Surgical stress and GA activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and release neuroendocrine mediators such as cortisol, catecholamines, and prostaglandin E2, which may reduce host defense immunity and promote distant metastasis. On the other hand, IV anesthesia with propofol and RA with paravertebral block or epidural anesthesia can weaken surgical stress and GA-induced immunosuppression and protect the host defense immunity. IV anesthesia with propofol and RA or in combination with GA may reduce cancer recurrence and improve patient survival compared to GA alone. We review the current status of the relationship between anesthesia and breast cancer recurrence using retrospective and prospective studies conducted with animal models and clinical samples, and discuss the future prospects for reducing breast cancer recurrence and improving survival rates in breast cancer surgery.

Background Surgery/anesthetic technique-stimulated immunosuppression may be associated with outcome for cancer patients. Here, the immune responses of patients undergoing day surgery versus hospitalization surgery for breast cancer were compared in a prospective study. Methods Between February 2012 and August 2014, 21 breast cancer patients underwent day surgery and 16 breast cancer patients underwent hospitalization surgery. The former group received lidocaine/propofol/pethidine, while propofol/systemic opioid- and sevoflurane/propofol/systemic opioid-based anesthesia were administered to the latter group. Surgical stress response was evaluated based on time of operation and amount of bleeding during operation. Immune function was assessed based on natural killer (NK) cell activity, CD4/8 T cell ratio, and cytokine levels of IL-6 and IL-10 that were detected before surgery, after surgery, and on the first postoperative day. Results Operation time did not differ between the two groups. Blood loss was significantly less for the hospitalization surgery group. No change in NK cell activity was observed for either group, although the CD4/8 T cell ratio increased transiently following day surgery. Levels of IL-6 increased significantly in both groups following surgery, and these levels tended to be higher in the hospitalization surgery group. One patient who underwent hospitalization surgery had higher levels of IL-10. Conclusions There were few differences in immune response between the two groups, potentially since a majority of the hospitalization surgery patients received propofol-based anesthesia. We hypothesize that the use of volatile anesthetic/opioid analgesia in hospitalization surgery has a greater influence on immune function in breast cancer patients than local anesthetic/propofol-based anesthesia in day surgery.