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Perioperative Implications of the Global Cancer Epidemic

  • Cancer Anesthesia (B Riedel, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

The global population is expanding and rapidly aging, with the percentage population over age 65 years expected to double by 2030. This is paralleled by a rise in incidence of cancer and of chronic non-communicable disease. The World Health Organization estimates that newly diagnosed cancers will increase from 14 million to 22 million annually by 2035, with the greatest proportional rise expected in the developing world. Low and middle-income countries (LMICs) will experience 70 % increase in contribution by cancer to disability and premature death. The delivery of cancer care is a global challenge. Surgery remains a mainstay for cancer therapy. Inability to have timely surgical access is estimated to contribute to between 13 and 17 % loss of national global domestic product through loss of workforce productivity in LMIC and high-income countries, respectively, with cancer and injury accounting for more than 95 % of such annual economic welfare loss. In addition to a thorough understanding of cancer therapies and their associated alterations in physiology, it is crucial that perioperative clinicians ensure a safe, complication-free perioperative period for the cancer surgery patient, providing enhanced functional recovery to facilitate continuation of the cancer care journey with adjuvant therapy. Further, our understanding of perioperative perturbations that predispose to tumor spread and recurrence (which may arise from minimal residual disease, circulating tumor cells, or micrometastatic disease) following surgery is rapidly evolving, with the potential opportunity to adapt anesthetic and perioperative strategies. These factors will positively influence long-term cancer outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. Bernhard Riedel wishes to thank Drs. Donal Buggy, Vijaya Gottumukkala, and Erica Sloan for their kind assistance in the development of this issue and the reviewing of the articles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Vanderbilt University, 1301 Medical Center Drive #4648, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA

    Kelly McQueen

  2. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA

    Vijaya Gottumukkala

  3. Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Melbourne, Australia

    Jessica F. Davies & Bernhard Riedel

Authors
  1. Kelly McQueen
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  2. Vijaya Gottumukkala
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  3. Jessica F. Davies
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  4. Bernhard Riedel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kelly McQueen.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cancer Anesthesia.

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McQueen, K., Gottumukkala, V., Davies, J.F. et al. Perioperative Implications of the Global Cancer Epidemic. Curr Anesthesiol Rep 5, 243–249 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-015-0123-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40140-015-0123-8

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