End-of-life hospital costs in cancer patients: do advance directives or routes of hospital admission make a difference?
Oncology. 2011;80(1-2):118-22
Authors: Tan TS, Jatoi A
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: End-of-life can…

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Postmarketing surveillance study of OxyContin tablets for relieving moderate to severe cancer pain.

Oncology. 2008;74 Suppl 1:46-51

Authors: Yu SY,

OBJECTIVE: To evaluatethe efficacy and safety of OxyContin tablets (controlled-release oxycodone hydrochloride: 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg) in relieving moderate to severe cancer pain. METHOD: A multicenter, open-label, prospective, self-controlled clinical trial was used. RESULTS: Pain was relieved in 89.1% of patients within 1 h after drug administration. OxyContin tablets showed good clinical efficacy in relieving both moderate and severe cancer pain. Compared with baseline average pain scores of 6.9 +/- 1.4, subjects had lower average pain scores after administration of OxyContin tablets: 2.7 +/- 1.8 after 1 week and 2.1 +/- 1.5 after 2 weeks. Response rate reached 75.0% at the end of the 1st week and was maintained at approximately 90% from the 3rd to the 8th week. The most common adverse drug reactions (ADRs) caused by OxyContintablets were, in descending order of incidence rate: constipation (25.5%), nausea (13.3%), vomiting (6.2%), lethargy (3.7%), and dysuria (2.1%). All these ADRs could be decreased by preventive medications. CONCLUSION: OxyContin tablets demonstrated fast onset of cancer pain control, superior efficacy in relieving both moderate and severe cancer pain and a good safety profile.

PMID: 18758197 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Postmarketing surveillance study of OxyContin tablets for relieving moderate to severe postherpetic neuralgia pain.

Oncology. 2008;74 Suppl 1:66-71

Authors: Fan BF,

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of OxyContin tablets(controlled-release oxycodone hydrochloride: 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg) in relieving moderate to severe postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) pain. METHOD: A multicenter, open-label, prospective, self-controlled clinical observation. RESULTS: Pain was relieved in 17.3% of patients within 30 min and in 94.1% patients within 1 h after drug administration. OxyContin tablets showed good clinical efficacy in relieving both moderate and severe PHN pain. Response rate reached 98.4% at the end of the 8th week of treatment. After the 1st week of treatment, stable pain relief was achieved, and pain scores on a Visual Analogue Scale decreased dramatically in most patients. During treatment with controlled-release OxyContin tablets, the use of concomitant medications was significantly decreased. Some patients developed adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the 1st week, which decreased significantly during the following weeks of treatment. Nausea (18.1%) was the most commonly reported ADR, followed by constipation (10.1%) and dizziness (10.1%). A number of ADRs disappeared during treatment. CONCLUSION: Controlled-release OxyContin tablets demonstrated fast onset of PHN pain control, superior efficacy in relieving both moderate and severe PHN pain, and a good safety profile.

PMID: 18758201 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Oxycodone and the challenge of neuropathic cancer pain: a review.

Oncology. 2008;74 Suppl 1:83-90

Authors: Núñez Olarte JM

In order to evaluate the potential role of oxycodone in cancer pain management, neuropathic cancer pain was selected as a model for difficult pain syndromes. A nonsystematic, yet exhaustive, review of the literature provided the relevant evidence for the discussion. Ten randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 5 open-label studies on oxycodone and cancer pain, 3 RCTs and 1 open-label study on oxycodone and neuropathic pain, and 2 RCTs on oxycodone and visceral pain were identified and reviewed. Additionally, 5 basic research studies that contributed to our knowledge of the specific mechanisms of action of oxycodone were also reviewed. Finally, recent evidence-based reviews of RCTs on neuropathic pain were selected (6 reviews), and specific RCTs on neuropathic cancer pain were also identified (2 trials). The review of the literature shows that the management of neuropathic cancer pain has changed dramatically in the last few years thanks to new approaches and novel drugs. The vast majority of these new drugs have been proven to be useful in ‘benign’ neuropathic pain syndromes. The intrinsic difficulties in performing RCTs in cancer pain have traditionally justified the acceptance of drugs already known to be effective in benign neuropathic pain, in spite of insufficient evidence in malignant neuropathic pain. Therefore, a case is made for the development of specific guidelines for the management of both simple and complex cases of neuropathic cancer pain. An example of one of such clinical guidelines is provided, in which the role of oxycodone is particularly relevant given the existing evidence.

PMID: 18758204 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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