Anti-nausea drug may help cancer patients to live longer even after surgery: Study

New medical research conducted on 74,058 patients suffering from breast, pancreatic and certain other types of cancer can survive longer if given an anti-nausea drug during surgery. According to the research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2021 annual meeting, patients who did not receive dexamethasone died three times more than those who had. The research data shows that those who did not receive the anti-nausea drug die three months after their cancer surgery. Notably, dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid medication used to treat rheumatic problems. It is also given to patients to prevent nausea and vomiting after surgery and during chemotherapy. 

According to the researchers, anti-nausea drugs can improve mid-to-long-term results in patients suffering from non-immunogenic cancers such as sarcoma, cancers of the breast, uterus, ovary, oesophagus, pancreas, thyroid, bones and joints. "Dexamethasone has positive and negative effects - it inhibits cancer growth but also suppresses the immune system," said Maximilian Schaefer, MD, PhD, senior author of the study and director of the Center for Anesthesia Research Excellence, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston. "Previous research has reported that in cancers in which the immune system controls cancer growth, the positive and negative effects of dexamethasone balance each other, so there is no benefit. Ours is the first large study to show that for a wide variety of cancers where the immune system does not play a major role, the positive effects seem to predominate," Schaefer added.

The researchers said they have analysed the reports of 74,058 patients who had surgeries to remove non-immunogenic cancerous tumours between 2005 and 2020 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The researchers noted a total of 25,178 patients received dexamethasone during surgery. After performing the surgery, doctors recalled the patients after 90 days. Subsequently, they came to know that 209 lost their lives which means 0.83% died even after receiving Dexamethasone. However, the researchers also noted that 1,543 (3.2%) of patients who did not receive the drug died after 90 days period. 

"Based on our data, physician anesthesiologists should feel more confident in administering dexamethasone to patients undergoing surgery for non-immunogenic cancers.  It not only helps with nausea, but it also may result in improved survival," said Dr Schaefer.

 After a thorough study, the researchers concluded two reports related to cancer patients:

1. Dexamethasone is often administered to younger patients, those who received the drug still had a 21% reduced risk of dying within one year after surgery. 
2. A second analysis determined dexamethasone was particularly beneficial for patients with cancers of the ovary, uterus or cervix.

With inputs from ANI

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