Pre-Incisional Ketorolac for Patients Undergoing Surgery for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Renal Cell Carcinoma

Surgical resection is a cornerstone of standard-of-care treatment for early-stage non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Yet despite optimal treatment, many of these patients will develop cancer recurrence within the first few years. For example, the 5-year survival rate for patients with stage I/II NSCLC is only around 55%. As a result, more effective treatments that decrease cancer recurrence and increase survival are still needed. Surgery induces inflammation, immunosuppression and angiogenesis. Although these processes are important for wound healing in response to tissue injury caused by surgery, they also support the survival, growth and dissemination of any remaining cancer cells and can lead to systemic recurrence soon after surgery. Surgical trauma increases the production of prostaglandins and thromboxanes, which have tumor-promoting and immunosuppressive activities, and reduces the activity of natural killer cells, which impairs the ability of the immune system to keep cancer cells in check. However, if given just before tissue injury, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be able to block the production of prostaglandins/thromboxanes and boost the activity of natural killer cells, and thereby decrease the risk of cancer recurrence. NSAIDs such as ketorolac are already routinely given to cancer patients postoperatively for pain management and are sometimes given intraoperatively (immediately before or during surgery) to prevent postoperative pain. A retrospective clinical analysis found that intraoperative intravenous ketorolac or diclofenac (another NSAID), when added to standard of care for patients with stage I/II NSCLC, was associated with decreased risks of distant recurrence and mortality. In this study, patients with NSCLC or RCC will be screened and recruited during the preoperative period by the responsible medical and surgical team. Participants will be randomized on the day of surgery to either the preoperative ketorolac group or a concurrent control group who will not receive preincisional ketorolac. Participants will be followed for 28 days.