Opioid Treatment For Cancer Pain

People with cancer often receive opioid treatment to deal with intense pain. Often an intense and disabling pain is caused by the pressure of the tumor itself. It may also be due to certain treatments or subsequent immune system changes.

Today, cancer is one of the most important health problems. Millions of people die from this disease every year. About 40% of cancer patients undergoing treatment experience severe pain.

Unfortunately, this type of pain in late-stage cancer occurs in about 80% of patients. It is a complex situation that is difficult to deal with. Every person reacts in a certain way to a certain treatment and this often consists of very powerful drugs.

At the moment, scientists are making progress in this area and, little by little, are developing new treatment guidelines. In today’s article, we’ll discuss the treatment of opioids for cancer pain.

How cancer pain is treated

As we mentioned above, cancer pain treatment needs to be personalized. For example, doctors have to adapt the treatment to each patient, because it depends on, among other things:

• the type of cancer.
• the cause of the pain.
• the perception of pain.

However, there is a general pattern in the treatment of cancer pain, depending on the intensity of this pain. This scale has been prepared according to the standards of the World Health Organization. The following groups of drugs are ranked from lower to higher pain intensity:

• Simple pain relievers, such as acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are suitable for people with mild pain. The most common are ibuprofen and naproxen.
• The second level consists of weaker opioids for patients with moderate pain. This group includes codeine, tramadol or dihydrocodeine.
• Doctors prescribe strong opioid treatment for very severe pain. Morphine is the most commonly used, although treatment may also include methadone or fentanyl. Unfortunately, more than half of cancer patients eventually need these drugs at some point.

To classify pain, doctors must properly assess their patients. They use a pain scale for this. Pain scales score various characteristics and the perception of pain to rank them somewhere between mild and unbearable.

In general, pain is the result of more than one mechanism. It will therefore always be necessary to tailor medicines personally to the person who is in pain.

What is an opioid treatment?

Opioid drugs are drugs made from opium that also act on brain receptors or opiate receptors. They are distributed through the central and peripheral nervous systems.

What these drugs do is bind to certain receptors and thus limit the nerve impulses. However, you should keep in mind that these drugs have many side effects.

• First, it is important to note that a large proportion of opioids, such as morphine, are addictive and can lead to dependence. They can also increase the feeling of fatigue and weakness.

• Another risk is that they can lead to respiratory damage. Thus, doctors should be very careful with the dosage and patients should only use these drugs under medical supervision.

An opioid treatment for cancer pain

The second level: weak opioids

As we indicated above, the most commonly used drugs at this level are tramadol and codeine. A patient can take them in different ways. For example, codeine is intended for oral ingestion. However, patients with liver or kidney problems should avoid its use.

• The medicines can release the active substances with a delay or have full effect immediately.
• They can also be used in combination with other drugs, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

The third level: strong opioids

These drugs are specific to cases where pain is almost unbearable. Morphine is the most common opioid treatment because the route of administration is very versatile.

Also, morphine does not have a ‘pain-relieving ceiling’. Doctors can adjust the dosage depending on the effect achieved. However, the limit is set by the side effects, as an overdose can lead to death.

Conclusion

Opioid treatment for cancer pain is complicated. Therefore, doctors prescribe it depending on the complaints of each patient. As you can see, it should always be a doctor who makes the choices and sets the guidelines for this type of treatment.