Cancers, Vol. 13, Pages 5736: Can Naloxegol Therapy Improve Quality of Life in Patients with Advanced Cancer?

Cancers, Vol. 13, Pages 5736: Can Naloxegol Therapy Improve Quality of Life in Patients with Advanced Cancer? Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers13225736 Authors: Rita Ostan Giuseppe Gambino Italo Malavasi Gianluca Ronga Maria Solipaca Michela Spunghi Silvia Varani Raffaella Pannuti Enrico Ruggeri This observational study aims to evaluate the efficacy of naloxegol therapy in resolving opioid-induced constipation (OIC) and in improving the quality of life in a home palliative care cancer setting. Advanced cancer patients with OIC (Rome IV criteria) not relieved by laxatives started a naloxegol therapy 25 mg/day for 4 weeks. Quality of life was evaluated by Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality-of-Life (PAC-QoL) at day 0 and day 28; background pain by Numerical Rating Scale, number of weekly spontaneous bowel movements and Bowel Function Index (BFI) were evaluated at day 0 and every week. Seventy-eight patients who completed the 4-week study improved all four PAC-QoL dimensions (physical and psychological discomfort, worries/concerns and satisfaction level). Weekly spontaneous bowel movements increased and BFI improved. Background pain reduced after seven days and remained lower during the following weeks. Seventy-two patients dropped out the study before day 28 with a reduced survival compared to patients completing the study. Even in these patients, an improvement of bowel function was observed after two weeks. Naloxegol was effective in improving the qu...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research