Editorial: Perioperative management and cancer outcome

Abstract

Editorial on the Research Topic Perioperative management and cancer outcomePerioperative management plays a critical role in determining the outcomes of patients with cancer undergoing surgery. It encompasses a comprehensive approach that involves careful planning, meticulous execution, and attentive postoperative care. The perioperative period, which includes the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases, presents numerous challenges and opportunities to optimize patient care and improve treatment outcomes. The Research Topic aimed to present some of the more recent evidence integrating clinical observations and experimental findings linking perioperative management and cancer-related outcomes.Several studies focused on the potential long-term effects of perioperative and intraoperative pharmacological management on tumors. The influence of anesthetic approaches on cancer patients is complex. Abundant evidence from animal studies has suggested that different types of anesthetics can influence tumor progression and survival outcomes in patients with malignancies (1, 2). The impact of intraoperative low-dose dopamine administration in hepatic surgery emerges as another intriguing topic within this Research Topic. The propensity score matching analysis examining its association with survival rates in hepatocellular carcinoma patients conducted by Wang et al. highlight the potential implications of such intervention on long-term outcomes. Dexmedetomidine is a frequently used sedative during surgery. Xu et al. conducted a meta-analysis and showed the impact of dexmedetomidine in reducing systemic inflammation and postoperative cognitive dysfunction and improving recovery in patients undergoing digestive tract cancer surgery.Importantly, the Research Topic also addresses the value of non-surgical interventions in perioperative care. Prehabilitation is a proposed modality for optimizing preoperative conditions to improve postoperative outcomes. Studies reported potential advantages for various surgical procedures (3, 4). However, according to Zhang X. et al.'s systematic reviews and meta-analyses, rehabilitation did not significantly enhance postoperative