ReviewDrugs2010
Fentanyl sublingual: in breakthrough pain in opioid-tolerant adults with cancer.
Review in Drugs, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multidimensional Treatment of Cancer Pain.Current oncology reports · 2017Pooled it
- Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of sublingual fentanyl orally disintegrating tablet in the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.Daru : journal of Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences · 2021Trial
- The efficacy of oral piroxicam fast-dissolving tablets versus sublingual fentanyl in incident breakthrough pain due to bone metastases: a double-blinded randomized study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019Trial
- Sublingual Administration for Pain Control: Pharmacology, Clinical Applications and Future Directions.CNS drugs · 2026Review
- Breakthrough pain and rapid-onset opioids in patients with cancer pain: a narrative review.Journal of Yeungnam medical science · 2024Article
- Improving the Emergency Department Management of Sickle Cell Vaso-Occlusive Pain Crisis: The Role and Options of Sublingual and Intranasally Administered Analgesia.Journal of clinical medicine research · 2023Review
- Effects of Age Among Elderly Cancer Patients on Breakthrough Pain Management with Sublingual Fentanyl Tablets.Drugs in R&D · 2019Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Sublingual Fentanyl Tablets in Breakthrough Cancer Pain Management According to Cancer Stage and Background Opioid Medication.Drugs in R&D · 2018Observational
- Breakthrough Pain Management with Sublingual Fentanyl Tablets in Patients with Cancer: Age Subgroup Analysis of a Multicenter Prospective Study.Drugs in R&D · 2017Article
- Characteristics and Treatment of Breakthrought Pain (BTcP) in Palliative Care.Medical archives (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) · 2017Article
- Review
- Fentanyl Buccal Soluble Film: A Review in Breakthrough Cancer Pain.Clinical drug investigation · 2016Review
- Pharmacokinetics of non-intravenous formulations of fentanyl.Clinical pharmacokinetics · 2013Review
- Pharmacotherapy for breakthrough cancer pain.Drugs · 2012Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Fentanyl is a potent opioid with a short duration of action. Fentanyl sublingual has been formulated as a rapidly disintegrating tablet that is quickly absorbed, producing a fast onset of analgesia. In two randomized, double-blind clinical trials, fentanyl sublingual as single fixed or titrated doses reduced pain intensity during breakthrough pain episodes to a significantly greater extent than placebo in opioid-tolerant cancer patients. In a fixed-dose phase II trial and a titrated-dose phase III trial, fentanyl sublingual (as a single 400 μg dose and as titrated doses) reduced mean pain intensity difference (PID) to a significantly greater extent than placebo over the entire treatment period (up to 60 minutes), reaching statistical significance 15 minutes post-dose. In the titrated-dose study, the mean sum of PID (area under the PID vs time curve) at 30 minutes post-dose was significantly greater with fentanyl sublingual than placebo, with significant improvements in PID seen at 10 minutes maintained at 60 minutes post-dose. In the phase III study, patients receiving fentanyl sublingual were more satisfied with their treatment than patients receiving placebo (measured using the Patient Global Evaluation of Medication score), and almost half of all fentanyl sublingual recipients were satisfied or very satisfied with their treatment. Fentanyl sublingual was generally well tolerated in the two trials and most adverse events were mild to moderate in intensity.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.