Pain management and complications in children undergoing surgical treatment for childhood cancers: A systematic literature review

Objectives: This study aimed to examine in detail the scientific research articles on children undergoing surgical treatment for childhood cancers. Materials and methods: In this systematic literature review, scientific research articles on children who received surgical treatment for childhood cancers between January 1, 2014, and August 1, 2024, were scanned using international databases. A total of 1,490 articles were reached in the databases, and eight articles that met the inclusion criteria were examined in detail. Results: When the designs of the studies were examined, one was quasi-experimental, and seven were descriptive studies. All studies were retrospective. When the samples of the studies were analyzed, it was determined that five (62.5%) had a sample size >50. Two (25%) studies were conducted with pediatric patients with pancreatic tumors. The study topics were short- and long-term complications, postoperative pain management, postoperative anxiety, depression, and quality of life, and comparison of different surgical methods. Conclusion: There is a limited number of studies on surgical interventions in children with solid tumors. It is recommended to conduct experimental studies with a large sample size in this vulnerable population.