Risks and outcomes in oncology patients undergoing anesthesia and surgery

ONCOLOGY PATIENTS initially undergoing anesthesia and surgery bring not only their concomitant disease processes but some additional risk factors as a result of their tumor(s) and prior therapy. Identifying which processes can alter the patient's outcome is important in determining which patients may be suitable risks for anesthesia and surgery. Risk factors related to perioperative morbidity and mortality in the cancer patient are discussed, including recent perioperative mortality statistics from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The limitations of analyses of these risk factors are also addressed.