Cancerous phenotypes associated with hypoxia-inducible factors are not influenced by the volatile anesthetic isoflurane in renal cell carcinoma.

The possibility that anesthesia during cancer surgery may affect cancer recurrence, metastasis, and patient prognosis has become one of the most important topics of interest in cancer treatment. For example, the volatile anesthetic isoflurane was reported in several studies to induce hypoxia-inducible factors, and thereby enhance malignant phenotypes in vitro. Indeed, these transcription factors are considered critical regulators of cancer-related hallmarks, including "sustained proliferative signaling, evasion of growth suppressors, resistance to cell death, replicative immortality, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis." This study aimed to investigate the impact of isoflurane on the growth and migration of derivatives of the renal cell line RCC4. We indicated that isoflurane treatment did not positively influence cancer cell phenotypes, and that hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) maintain hallmark cancer cell phenotypes including gene expressions signature, metabolism, cell proliferation and cell motility. The present results indicate that HIF activity is not influenced by the volatile anesthetic isoflurane.