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The mu opioid receptor: A new target for cancer therapy?
Author(s) -
Singleton Patrick A.,
Moss Jonathan,
Karp Daniel D.,
Atkins Johnique T.,
Janku Filip
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/cncr.29460
Subject(s) - medicine , opioid , cancer , cancer pain , perioperative , opioid receptor , chronic pain , oncology , pharmacology , receptor , anesthesia , psychiatry
Mu opioids are among the most widely used drugs for patients with cancer with both acute and chronic pain as well as in the perioperative period. Several retrospective studies have suggested that opioid use might promote tumor progression and as a result negatively impact survival in patients with advanced cancer; however, in the absence of appropriate prospective validation, any changes in recommendations for opioid use are not warranted. In this review, the authors present preclinical and clinical data that support their hypothesis that the mu opioid receptor is a potential target for cancer therapy because of its plausible role in tumor progression. The authors also propose the hypothesis that peripheral opioid antagonists such as methylnaltrexone, which reverses the peripheral effects of mu opioids but maintains centrally mediated analgesia and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid‐induced constipation, can be used to target the mu opioid receptor. Cancer 2015;121:2681‐2688. © 2015 American Cancer Society