The impact of intraoperative opioid use on survival after oral cancer surgery

•The intraoperative opioid use during oral cancer surgery is high.•High opioid use during oral cancer surgery is not an independent predictor of RFS.•High opioid use during oral cancer surgery is associated with a 77% reduced OS. To investigate the impact of opioid use on cancer recurrence after oral cancer surgery. We hypothesized that the amount of opioids administered during oral cancer surgery is an independent predictor of recurrence free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). After Institutional Review Board approval, we collected demographic, tumor related, intraoperative and survival data of patients who had oral cancer surgery. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the impact of important covariates on RFS and OS. 268 patients were included. After adjusting for significant covariates, the amount of opioids administered during surgery was not an independent predictor of RFS (HR: 1.27 [CI 95%, 0.838–1.924], p=0.26). However, we observed an association between opioid consumption and shorter OS (HR=1.77, [CI 95%=0.995–3.149]. p=0.05). High requirements of opioids during surgery increase the risk of recurrence and mortality by 27% and 77%, although the association is not statically significant.