Clinical trial · Interventional
Propofol vs Sevo for Paediatric Tumor Surgery
The Effects of Propofol Based Intravenous vs Sevoflurane Inhalation Anaesthesia on Inflammation and Circulating Tumor Cells in Paediatric Tumor Surgery - a Pilot Study
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Background: Retrospective studies and meta-analyses have shown a reduction in 5-year survival following inhalational based compared to propofol based total intravenous (TIVA) anaesthesia for cancer surgery. To date there have been no prospective trials published which evaluate the effect of anaesthetic technique on circulating tumour cells (CTC), oxidative stress, and recurrence rate following cancer surgery. Children with cancer often require surgery for tumour excision as well as for other diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. To date there has been no prospective randomized controlled trial evaluating the optimal anaesthetic technique for surgery on children with cancer. Aim: This is a pilot study in paediatric patients who require surgery for tumour excision. The aim is to investigate the effect of sevoflurane inhalational versus propofol intravenous anaesthesia on expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), circulating tumour cells, DNA damage and biomarkers of immunity and inflammation in patients before and after tumour surgery. The patients will be followed up for up to 5 years for tumour recurrence after surgery. Method: This will be a single-blinded randomized controlled trial. One hundred children undergoing tumour excision surgery at the Hong Kong Children's Hospital will be recruited and randomized to receive TIVA or inhalational anaesthesia. Baseline, intraoperative and postoperative blood will be taken for tests of immunity and inflammatory markers, DNA damage and circulating tumour cells. Patients would be followed up to 3 years for tumour recurrence and survival.
Conditions
Conditions (4)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Carcinoma | Carcinoma | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Malignancy | Malignant Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
| Solid Tumor | Solid Neoplasm | CURATED_BROADER | 0.80 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| propofol | Drug | — | UNRESOLVED |
| sevoflurane | Drug | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Sevoflurane group
- description
- patients in this group will receive inhalation anaesthesia with sevoflurane at Minimal Alveolar Concentration 0.7-1.3 as the main anaesthetic to achieve Bispectral Index 40-60. Other anaesthetic management will be standardised.
- interventionNames
- Drug: sevoflurane
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- propofol group
- description
- patients in this group will receive intravenous propofol using Target Controlled Infusion 'Paedfusor' model 2-5 as the main anaesthetic to achieve Bispectral Index 40-60. Other anaesthetic management will be standardised.
- interventionNames
- Drug: propofol
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 6 Months
- Maximum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * patients coming for elective primary solid tumor resection for curative intent in Hong Kong Children's Hospital * AND patients \> 5kg * AND patients within age limit Exclusion Criteria: * Autoimmune / Chronic inflammatory diseases e.g. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) etc. * Current Steroid therapy * Surgery for tumour removal in the past year * Allergy to Propofol * intraoperative use of nitrous oxide * Patient susceptible to Malignant Hyperthermia * Patients / parents / legal guardians showing preference in anaesthetic techniques during recruitment process
References
Publications (9)
- BACKGROUNDDivatia JV, Ambulkar R. Anesthesia and cancer recurrence: What is the evidence? J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol. 2014 Apr;30(2):147-50. doi: 10.4103/0970-9185.129990. No abstract available. PMID 24803747
- BACKGROUNDHeaney 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. PMID 23242747
- BACKGROUNDVinay DS, Ryan EP, Pawelec G, Talib WH, Stagg J, Elkord E, Lichtor T, Decker WK, Whelan RL, Kumara HMCS, Signori E, Honoki K, Georgakilas AG, Amin A, Helferich WG, Boosani CS, Guha G, Ciriolo MR, Chen S, Mohammed SI, Azmi AS, Keith WN, Bilsland A, Bhakta D, Halicka D, Fujii H, Aquilano K, Ashraf SS, Nowsheen S, Yang X, Choi BK, Kwon BS. Immune evasion in cancer: Mechanistic basis and therapeutic strategies. Semin Cancer Biol. 2015 Dec;35 Suppl:S185-S198. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2015.03.004. Epub 2015 Mar 25. PMID 25818339
- BACKGROUNDDemicheli R, Retsky MW, Hrushesky WJ, Baum M, Gukas ID. The effects of surgery on tumor growth: a century of investigations. Ann Oncol. 2008 Nov;19(11):1821-8. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdn386. Epub 2008 Jun 10. PMID 18550576
- BACKGROUNDTavare AN, Perry NJ, Benzonana LL, Takata M, Ma D. Cancer recurrence after surgery: direct and indirect effects of anesthetic agents. Int J Cancer. 2012 Mar 15;130(6):1237-50. doi: 10.1002/ijc.26448. Epub 2011 Nov 9. PMID 21935924
- BACKGROUNDBenzonana LL, Perry NJ, Watts HR, Yang B, Perry IA, Coombes C, Takata M, Ma D. Isoflurane, a commonly used volatile anesthetic, enhances renal cancer growth and malignant potential via the hypoxia-inducible factor cellular signaling pathway in vitro. Anesthesiology. 2013 Sep;119(3):593-605. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e31829e47fd. PMID 23774231
- BACKGROUNDKushida A, Inada T, Shingu K. Enhancement of antitumor immunity after propofol treatment in mice. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 2007;29(3-4):477-86. doi: 10.1080/08923970701675085.