Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27774024›Full record

ArticlePragmatic and observational research2014

Cancer pain therapy with a fixed combination of prolonged-release oxycodone/naloxone: results from a non-interventional study.

Thomas Nolte, Ulf Schutter, Oliver Loewenstein

Open access · diamondAbstract read
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Article in Pragmatic and observational research, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Thomas NoltePain and Palliative Care Centre Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany.
Ulf SchutterClinical Office for Pain Therapy, Marienhospital Marl, Marl, Germany.
Oliver LoewensteinRegional Pain and Palliative Care Centre, Mainz, Germany.
Institut für Palliative Care · DEMarienhospital Stuttgart · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundStrong opioids, including oxycodone, are the most effective analgesics used to combat moderate to severe cancer pain, but opioid-induced bowel dysfunction is a relevant problem associated with the therapy. Clinical studies have demonstrated equivalent analgesic efficacy and improved bowel function in treatment with a fixed combination of prolonged-release (PR) oxycodone and PR naloxone compared to oxycodone alone in patients with nonmalignant pain. Here, we report of a prospective, non-interventional study evaluating the effectiveness and safety of PR oxycodone/PR naloxone in a subgroup of patients with severe cancer pain. PATIENTS AND

methodsWithin the non-interventional multicenter study, 1,178 cancer patients with severe chronic pain received PR oxycodone/PR naloxone, dosed according to pain intensity, for 4 weeks. Recorded variables included pain intensity, patient-reported bowel function (Bowel Function Index), and pain-related functional impairment as a measure of quality of life (QoL).

resultsDuring treatment with PR oxycodone/PR naloxone, clinically relevant improvements in pain intensity were observed in opioid-naïve patients and in patients pretreated with weak or strong opioids, as reflected by reductions in pain scores of 51%, 53%, and 33%, respectively. Improvement in analgesia was paralleled by a significant reduction of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction in opioid-pretreated patients. The reductions in the mean Bowel Function Index of -20.5 and -36.5 in patients pretreated with weak and strong opioids, respectively, represent clinically relevant improvements in bowel function. Pain-related functional impairment decreased consistently across all seven domains, which is equivalent to a substantial improvement in QoL.

conclusionThis subgroup analysis of cancer patients within a large non-interventional study demonstrates that treatment with PR oxycodone/PR naloxone provides effective analgesia with minimization of bowel dysfunction and improved QoL. These data extend our knowledge of the effectiveness and tolerability of PR oxycodone/PR naloxone to the population of patients with cancer under real-life conditions.

Indexed as

constipationnaloxoneneoplasmsoxycodonepainquality of life

Identifiers

PMID27774024
PMCPMC5045016
OpenAlexW2087832960

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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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.