Intraoperative Fractions of Inspiratory Oxygen Are Associated With Recurrence-Free Survival After Elective Cancer Surgery

Background: Choice of the fraction of inspiratory oxygen (FiO(2)) is controversial. The objective of this analysis was to evaluate whether intraoperative FiO(2) was associated with recurrence-free survival after elective cancer surgery. Methods and Analysis: In this single-center, retrospective study, we analyzed 1,084 patients undergoing elective resection of pancreatic (n = 652), colorectal (n = 405), or hepatic cancer (n = 27) at Heidelberg University Hospital between 2009 and 2016. Intraoperative mean FiO(2) values were calculated. For unstratified analyses, the study cohort was equally divided into a low- and a high-FiO(2) group. For cancer-stratified analyses, this division was done within cancer-strata. The primary outcome measure was recurrence-free survival until the last known follow-up. Groups were compared using Kaplan–Meier analysis. A stratified log rank test was used to control for different FiO(2) levels and survival times between the cancer strata. Cox-regression analyses were used to control for covariates. Sepsis, reoperations, surgical-site infections, and cardiovascular events during hospital stay and overall survival were secondary outcomes. Results: Median FiO(2) was 40.9% (Q1–Q3, 38.3–42.9) in the low vs. 50.4% (Q1–Q3, 47.4–54.7) in the high-FiO(2) group. Median follow-up was 3.28 (Q1–Q3, 1.68–4.97) years. Recurrence-free survival was considerable higher in the high-FiO(2) group (p < 0.001). This effect was also confirmed when stratified for the different tumor entities (p = 0.007). In colorectal cancer surgery, increased FiO(2) was independently associated with increased recurrence-free survival. The hazard for the primary outcome decreased by 3.5% with every 1% increase in FiO(2). The effect was not seen in pancreatic cancer surgery and we did not find differences in any of the secondary endpoints. Conclusions: Until definite evidence from large-scale trials is available and in the absence of relevant clinical conditions warranting specific FiO(2) values, perioperative care givers should aim for an intraoperative FiO(2) of 50% in abdominal cancer surgery as this might benefit oncological outcomes.