Cancers, Vol. 10, Pages 445: Pharmacokinetics of Sublingually Delivered Fentanyl in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Treated with Curatively Aimed Chemo or Bioradiotherapy

Cancers, Vol. 10, Pages 445: Pharmacokinetics of Sublingually Delivered Fentanyl in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Treated with Curatively Aimed Chemo or Bioradiotherapy Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers10110445 Authors: Evelien J. M. Kuip Wendy H. Oldenmenger Esther Oomen-de Hoop Gerda M. Verduijn Martine F. Thijs-Visser Peter de Bruijn Esther van Meerten Stijn L. W. Koolen Ron H. J. Mathijssen Carin C. D. van der Rijt Over 90% of patients treated for head and neck cancer with curatively aimed chemo or bioradiotherapy will develop painful mucositis and xerostomia. Sublingually delivered fentanyl (SDL) is a rapid acting opioid to treat breakthrough pain. It is unclear how SDL is absorbed by the mucosa of these patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mucositis and xerostomia on the absorption of SDL. Thirteen patients who received chemo or bioradiotherapy (RT), were given a single dose of fentanyl: Before start of RT, 3 and 6 weeks after start of RT, and 6 weeks after finishing RT. Pharmacokinetic samples were taken. The primary endpoint was the relative difference (RD) between systemic exposure to fentanyl (area under the curve; AUC) at baseline (AUCbaseline) and fentanyl AUC in the presence of mucositis grade ≥2. The secondary endpoint was the RD between AUCbaseline and fentanyl AUC in the presence of xerostomia, which were analyzed by means of a paired t-test on log-transformed data. Mucositis resulted in a...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research