ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2019
Fentanyl treatment for end-of-life dyspnoea relief in advanced cancer patients.
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guideline for Medication Management of Distressing Symptoms in Older Patients Receiving End-of-Life Palliative Care.Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2026Guideline
- Oral morphine drops for prompt relief of breathlessness in patients with advanced cancer-a randomized, double blinded, crossover trial of morphine sulfate oral drops vs. morphine hydrochloride drops with ethanol (red morphine drops).Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2020Trial
- Palliative Care for Cancer Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic, With Special Focus on Lung Cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeWe assessed the effects of subcutaneous-endovenous fentanyl on dyspnoea in a cohort of advanced cancer patients.
methodsWe performed a retrospective study in a cohort of advanced cancer patients with dyspnoea at rest who received subcutaneous or intravenous fentanyl. Patients with no shortness of breath at rest or at minimal exertion, no rescue doses per 24 h, were deemed to be responders to fentanyl. The period of assessment was 6 days from the beginning of fentanyl treatment.
resultsSeventy-two patients were evaluated: 65% males, 50% ≥ 75 years, Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) median of 30%. Seventy-six percent of the patients were responders to fentanyl. Fentanyl efficacy was not statistically related to age, gender, cancer type, previous opioid treatment, steroid and midazolam doses and PPS. The median fentanyl dose in responders was 25 mcg/h (interquartile range 12-70). It was significantly related to age (37 vs 12 mcg/h, for ≤ 75 vs > 75 years, respectively; p = 0.02). There was not a significant difference between fentanyl doses of responders and non-responder patients. Thirty-six, 23 and 15 patients had sustained improvements in dyspnoea over 48, 72 and 96 h. Fentanyl had no significant toxicity. The length of inclusion in the study and exclusion were related to low performance status (hazard ratio 0.961;
conclusionOur preliminary data suggest that subcutaneous-endovenous fentanyl may be associated with dyspnoea relief in dying patients. Further research is needed to confirm these findings.
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Registered trials
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