Anesthesia and Cancer Recurrence im Malignant Melanoma

Long-term Outcome After Radical Lymph Node Dissection of Malignant Melanoma. Comparison Between Regional Versus General Anesthesia With Respect to Impact of Perioperative Immunoediting and Validation of New Potential Predictive Biomarkers

Studies in animals and retrospective studies in humans show that regional anesthesia reduces metastatic cancer dissemination.

The investigators hypothesize that in patients suffering from malignant melanoma who have to undergo radical inguinal lymph node dissection immune function will be less compromised and long term survival will be superior when spinal anesthesia is compared to general anesthesia.

Results of basic science indicate that regional anesthesia prevents perioperative immunosuppression and reduces postoperative metastatic cancer dissemination. If this would occur in humans, optimised anesthetic management might improve long-term outcome after cancer surgery.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients scheduled for inguinal lymph node dissection because of malignant melanoma of the lower limb
• Signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age < 18 years
• Female patients who are pregnant or nursing
• Multiple organ failure
• Contraindications