ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2026
Opioid-induced neurotoxicity after opioid conversion to methadone in patients with cancer pain using the stop-and-go method: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo describe the frequency of opioid-induced neurotoxicity (OINT) after opioid conversion (OC) to methadone using the Stop-and-Go (SAG) method in cancer patients with inadequate pain control, and to identify factors associated with OINT.
methodsThis multicenter retrospective cohort study included adult hospitalized cancer patients who underwent OC to methadone using the SAG method for poor pain control at two comprehensive cancer centers between January 2018 and October 2022. Patients were monitored 14 days after OC, and variables related to OINT were analyzed. Ethical approval was obtained.
resultsA total of 372 patients underwent OC using the SAG method. The mean morphine-equivalent daily dose (MEDD) before OC was 212.2 mg (SD 128). OINT occurred in 70 patients (18.8%). Methadone was permanently discontinued in 2 patients (2.8%) and temporarily withheld in 7, while 61 were managed with hydration and a 15-20% methadone dose reduction. No patient required naloxone. OINT was less frequent in younger patients (mean age 59.4 vs. 63 years; p = 0.032) and showed a trend toward lower incidence in women (13% vs.22%; p = 0.065). Preexisting cognitive impairment or delirium was associated with OINT (52.4% vs.16.8%; p < 0.001). The mean time from OC to death was shorter among patients with OINT (2.1 months; SD 3.9) compared with those without OINT (3.6 months; SD 6.4; p = 0.012).
conclusionOC to methadone using the SAG method in patients with low-to-moderate MEDD was associated with a relatively low OINT frequency (18.8%). These findings suggest that SAG method in patients with low-to-moderate MEDD before OC may be safe, particularly for younger patients and those without cognitive impairment.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41520030What 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.