Studies showed that surgical stress inhibits the cytotoxic effects of natural killer cells and the activity of T cells, and thus leads to immunosuppression of the body. Furthermore, perioperative management such as anesthetic techniques, anesthetics and related drugs, blood transfusion and hypothermia can also affect immune function. For example, studies showed that inhalational anesthetics and opioids aggravate immunosuppression, and may lead to worse outcome; whereas regional anesthesia and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs relieve immunosuppression, and thus may improve outcome. Glucocorticoids (mainly dexamethasone) are frequently used for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting. A recent retrospective study showed that, for patients undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer, perioperative use of dexamethasone was associated with improved long-term survival. However, prospective randomized controlled trials are still lacking to demonstrate the relationship between perioperative management and long-term outcome in cancer patients.