The role of tapentadol as a strong opioid in cancer pain management: a systematic and critical review.

The role of tapentadol as a strong opioid in cancer pain management: a systematic and critical review. Curr Med Res Opin. 2017 Sep 14;:1-10 Authors: Mercadante S Abstract The aim of this review was to assess the role of tapentadol given at medium-high doses in opioid-tolerant patients for cancer pain management in place of step-3 analgesics. A systematic literature search was performed out of which six studies and one secondary analysis provided data regarding tapentadol used as a step- 3 analgesic for this review. Tapentadol, when used at ≥ 60 mg of oral morphine equivalents in opioid-tolerant patients with cancer pain, or passing from step-2 doses to ≥ 60 mg of oral morphine equivalents, was well tolerated and effective and could be considered as a flexible drug to be used for the management of moderate to severe cancer pain. The limited occurrence of gastrointestinal adverse effects may be a great advantage in the context of a disease like cancer, where multiple causes contribute to nausea, vomiting, or constipation; however, studies of tapentadol given at doses equivalent to step-3 level have some weaknesses, as data from prospective observational studies are poorly generalizable due to a small number of participants, controlled studies do not clearly show a superiority of tapentadol with respect to other opioids, and the sample size is often small. More studies are necessary to confirm the role of tapentadol in cancer pa...
Source: Current Medical Research and Opinion - Category: Research Tags: Curr Med Res Opin Source Type: research