Colt HG, Murgu SD, Korst RJ, Slatore CG, Unger M, Quadrelli S Follow-up and surveillance of the patient with lung cancer after curative-intent therapy: Diagnosis and management of lung cancer, 3rd ed: American College of Chest Physicians evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Chest. 2013 May;143(5 Suppl):e437S-e454S. doi: 10.1378/chest.12-2365.
Conrick-Martin I, Buggy DJ The effects of anesthetic and analgesic techniques on immune function. J Clin Anesth. 2013 Jun;25(4):253-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinane.2013.04.003. Epub 2013 Apr 26.
Cummings KC 3rd, Xu F, Cummings LC, Cooper GS A comparison of epidural analgesia and traditional pain management effects on survival and cancer recurrence after colectomy: a population-based study. Anesthesiology. 2012 Apr;116(4):797-806. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e31824674f6.
Downing JE, Miyan JA Neural immunoregulation: emerging roles for nerves in immune homeostasis and disease. Immunol Today. 2000 Jun;21(6):281-9. Review.
Elenkov IJ, Wilder RL, Chrousos GP, Vizi ES The sympathetic nerve--an integrative interface between two supersystems: the brain and the immune system. Pharmacol Rev. 2000 Dec;52(4):595-638. Review.
Gottschalk A, Sharma S, Ford J, Durieux ME, Tiouririne M Review article: the role of the perioperative period in recurrence after cancer surgery. Anesth Analg. 2010 Jun 1;110(6):1636-43. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0b013e3181de0ab6. Epub 2010 Apr 30.
Gupta A, Björnsson A, Fredriksson M, Hallböök O, Eintrei C Reduction in mortality after epidural anaesthesia and analgesia in patients undergoing rectal but not colonic cancer surgery: a retrospective analysis of data from 655 patients in central Sweden. Br J Anaesth. 2011 Aug;107(2):164-70. doi: 10.1093/bja/aer100. Epub 2011 May 17.
Heaney A, Buggy DJ Can anaesthetic and analgesic techniques affect cancer recurrence or metastasis? Br J Anaesth. 2012 Dec;109 Suppl 1:i17-i28. doi: 10.1093/bja/aes421. Review.
Ishihara Y, Matsunaga K, Iijima H, Fujii T, Oguchi Y, Kagawa J Time-dependent effects of stressor application on metastasis of tumor cells in the lung and its regulation by an immunomodulator in mice. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1999 Oct;24(7):713-26.
Ismail H, Ho KM, Narayan K, Kondalsamy-Chennakesavan S Effect of neuraxial anaesthesia on tumour progression in cervical cancer patients treated with brachytherapy: a retrospective cohort study. Br J Anaesth. 2010 Aug;105(2):145-9. doi: 10.1093/bja/aeq156. Epub 2010 Jun 23.
Lai R, Peng Z, Chen D, Wang X, Xing W, Zeng W, Chen M The effects of anesthetic technique on cancer recurrence in percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of small hepatocellular carcinoma. Anesth Analg. 2012 Feb;114(2):290-6. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0b013e318239c2e3. Epub 2011 Nov 21. Erratum in: Anesth Analg. 2013 Jan;116(1):266.
Lin L, Liu C, Tan H, Ouyang H, Zhang Y, Zeng W Anaesthetic technique may affect prognosis for ovarian serous adenocarcinoma: a retrospective analysis. Br J Anaesth. 2011 Jun;106(6):814-22. doi: 10.1093/bja/aer055. Epub 2011 Mar 24.
Page GG, Blakely WP, Ben-Eliyahu S Evidence that postoperative pain is a mediator of the tumor-promoting effects of surgery in rats. Pain. 2001 Feb 1;90(1-2):191-9.
Shakhar G, Ben-Eliyahu S Potential prophylactic measures against postoperative immunosuppression: could they reduce recurrence rates in oncological patients? Ann Surg Oncol. 2003 Oct;10(8):972-92. Review.
Snyder GL, Greenberg S Effect of anaesthetic technique and other perioperative factors on cancer recurrence. Br J Anaesth. 2010 Aug;105(2):106-15. doi: 10.1093/bja/aeq164. Review.
Xu YX, Ayala A, Chaudry IH Prolonged immunodepression after trauma and hemorrhagic shock. J Trauma. 1998 Feb;44(2):335-41.
Yamaguchi K, Takagi Y, Aoki S, Futamura M, Saji S Significant detection of circulating cancer cells in the blood by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction during colorectal cancer resection. Ann Surg. 2000 Jul;232(1):58-65.
Effects of Epidural Anesthesia-analgesia on Long-term Survival in Patients After Lung Cancer Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.