Tapentadol in cancer pain management: a prospective open-label study.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

The aim of this prospective, open-label study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of tapentadol (TP) in the management of cancer pain.

METHODS:

A 4 weeks' prospective study was carried out in 50 opioid-naive cancer patients with moderate-severe pain. Each patient initially received twice-daily doses of slow-release TP 50 mg. Doses were then managed to maintain adequate relief or dose-limiting toxicity, on the basis of the clinical response. The following parameters were recorded at weekly intervals for 4 weeks: pain and opioid-related adverse effects, quality of life measured with the Spitzer score, TP escalation index percent (TPEI%) and TP escalation index in mg (TPEImg), calculated at the end of the study, pain mechanisms, and PainDETECT at baseline.

RESULTS:

Of 50 patients, 39 completed the entire study and 11 discontinued the treatment for different reasons. Pain intensity significantly decreased from baseline to all the week intervals (p < 0.0005), and adverse effects did not changed significantly, while quality of life improved. TP escalation indexes were low and no relationship was found with age, gender, and pain mechanisms.

CONCLUSION:

Tapentalol started in doses of 100 mg/day was well-tolerated and effective in opioid-naive patients with cancer pain, regardless of the pain mechanism. It can be considered as a flexible drug to be used in patients with moderate-severe pain.

LIMITATIONS:

This was an open-label study for exploratory purposes. Data should be confirmed in controlled studies with a larger number of patients.

• Authors: Sebastiano Mercadante, Giampiero Porzio, Patrizia Ferrera, Federica Aielli, Claudio Adile, Corrado Ficorella, Antonello Giarratano, Alessandra Casuccio
• Journal: Current medical research and opinion (Curr Med Res Opin) Vol. 28 Issue 11 Pg. 1775-9 (Nov 2012) ISSN: 1473-4877 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 23057488 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Analgesics
• Phenols
• Tapentadol

Topics

• Aged
• Analgesics (therapeutic use)
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Neoplasms (complications)
• Pain (drug therapy, etiology)
• Pain Measurement
• Phenols (therapeutic use)
• Prospective Studies
• Tapentadol