Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41324745›Full record

SynthesisSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2025

The use of tramadol for cancer-associated pain-a systematic review.

Shivani Garlapati, Rachel Alexander, Candice Kaminski, Pavan Challa, Zsuzsanna Nemeth, Eduardo Bruera, Ronald Chow, Elizabeth Prsic

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

8 authors.

Shivani GarlapatiVydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Rachel AlexanderMedstar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Candice KaminskiYale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, P.O. Box 208028, New Haven, CT, 06520-8028, USA.
Pavan ChallaYale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, P.O. Box 208028, New Haven, CT, 06520-8028, USA.
Zsuzsanna NemethYale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, P.O. Box 208028, New Haven, CT, 06520-8028, USA.
Eduardo BrueraUniversity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Ronald ChowTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. ronald.chow@mail.utoronto.ca.
Elizabeth PrsicYale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, 333 Cedar Street, P.O. Box 208028, New Haven, CT, 06520-8028, USA. elizabeth.prsic@yale.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTramadol has been used for cancer pain and reported in the literature with varying relative effects compared to other analgesics. To our knowledge, there is no comprehensive systematic review documenting the efficacy/effectiveness and safety of tramadol for cancer-associated pain. The aim of this review is to report on the efficacy/effectiveness and safety of tramadol for cancer-associated pain.

methodsOvid MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL were searched through September 29, 2023. Articles were included if they reported on tramadol in a multi-arm comparative trial, employing either a randomized controlled trial design or an observational study design with a multivariable or propensity-score matched analysis, and reported on efficacy or safety data pertaining to tramadol. A narrative synthesis was conducted to identify common themes across trials of efficacy and safety endpoints.

resultsEleven studies with 2582 patients were included. Two were cohort studies and nine were randomized controlled trials. There were 20 efficacy endpoints; tramadol was superior in 3, inferior in 4, and neither in 13. There were 80 safety endpoints; tramadol was superior in 9, inferior in 12, and neither in 59. DISCUSSION: Relative to other analgesics, tramadol is neither superior nor inferior. There may exist a different safety profile and therefore an opportunity to provide individualized patient-centered treatment strategies focused on safety and quality of life.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidCancer PainTramadolHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAnalgesics, OpioidTramadolAnalgesiaCancerPainTramadol

Identifiers

PMID41324745
PMCPMC12669292

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.