Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42551768›Full record

ArticleJournal of pain and symptom management2026

Characterizing Pain and Opioid-Related Risks in Individuals With Advanced Cancer: A Cohort Study.

Katie Fitzgerald Jones, Gretchen E White, Sandhya Mudumbi, Alexandra Florescu Eubank, Antonia V Bennett, Hailey W Bulls, Stacy M Fischer, Megan Hamm, Tamar Krishnamurti, Risa L Wong and 6 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of pain and symptom management, 2026. 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

16 authors.

Katie Fitzgerald JonesNew England Geriatrics Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) (K.F.J.), VA Boston Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, USA. Electronic address: Katie.jones4@va.gov.
Gretchen E WhiteDivision of General Internal Medicine (G.E.W. and A.F.E.), Institute for Clinical Research Education, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Sandhya MudumbiMedical Oncology, Tennessee Oncology (S.M.), Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Alexandra Florescu EubankDivision of General Internal Medicine (G.E.W. and A.F.E.), Institute for Clinical Research Education, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Antonia V BennettDepartment of Health Policy and Management (A.V.B.), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Hailey W BullsDepartment of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (H.W.B.), University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham Alabama, USA.
Stacy M FischerDivision of General Internal Medicine, School of Medicine (S.M.F.), University of Colorado, Aurora, Coloroda, USA.
Megan HammDepartment of Qualitative, Evaluation, and Stakeholder Engagement Research Services (M.H.), University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Tamar KrishnamurtiDivision of General Internal Medicine (T.K.), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Risa L WongDivision of Hematology Oncology (R.L.W.), UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Thomas W LeBlancDivision of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy, Department of Medicine (T.W.L.), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Salimah H MeghaniDepartment of Biobehavioral Health Sciences (S.H.M.), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health (S.H.M.), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics (S.H.M.), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Cardinale SmithDepartment of Medicine (C.S.), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA.
Jennifer S TemelDepartment of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology (J.S.T.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Christine S RitchieCenter for Optimal Aging and Serious Illness Research (C.S.R.), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Department of Medicine (C.S.R.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Jessica MerlinCenter for Research Excellence in Supportive Care (CREST), Section for Palliative and Pain Research (SPARC) (J.M.), The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Funding

Opioid therapy for pain in individuals with metastatic cancer: benefits, harms and stakeholder perspectivesR01NR020031 · NINR · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI MERLIN, JESSICA S, RITCHIE, CHRISTINE S · 2021 to 2025
$3.5M
Mentoring the next generation of researchers at the intersection of opioid use disorder and chronic painK24DA056837 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI Megan Hamm, Jessica S Merlin · 2023 to 2026
$771k
Development and piloting of an intervention to reduce the impact of opioid stigma in cancer painK08CA263317 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI Hailey Waddell Bulls · 2022 to 2026
$729k
NCI NIH HHS K08 CA263317NIDA NIH HHS K24 DA056837NINR NIH HHS R01 NR020031
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextPatients with advanced cancer are living longer, which can impact pain trajectories and management approaches. Opioids are commonly used to treat pain in these patients, yet there is limited data on current opioid management in this population.

objectiveWe present baseline data from a prospective cohort study of patients with newly diagnosed advanced cancer.

methodsParticipants with a confirmed new diagnosis of advanced cancer and no history of long-term opioid use were recruited from five US oncology programs. Demographic information and validated patient-reported measures for pain (PEG score), comorbidities, and substance use measures were collected. We conducted descriptive statistics and assessed differences in PEG by short-duration opioid use with the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test.

resultsOf the 490 participants in the baseline analysis, median age was 67 years. Most participants identified as male (56%) and White (79%); digestive cancer was most common (35%). Most participants (58%) reported at least one non-cancer comorbidity. Approximately, 30% reported no pain, 36% reported mild pain, 22% reported moderate pain, and 12% reported severe pain. The PEG score was higher (P < 0.001) in those who used opioids in the past 3 months. Approximately, one-third (38%) of individuals reported recent short-term prescription opioid use. High-risk substance use was reported for alcohol (62% lifetime and 9% within the past 3 months) and, to a lesser extent, tobacco and cannabis.

conclusionOlder age, comorbidities, and substance use patterns noted in this population can impact pain trajectories and opioid safety.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidCancer PainNeoplasmsOpioid-Related DisordersAgedCohort StudiesComorbidityFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementProspective StudiesRisk FactorsAnalgesics, Opioidcancercancer painOpioidssubstance use

Identifiers

PMID42551768
PMCPMC13659746

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.