Nasal Fentanyl for Patient Controlled Treatment of Pain in Cancer
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2011-09-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Traditionally cancer pain is treated with long acting opioids such as morphine around the
clock. However, there is no evidence that all patients have a stable pain requiring around
the clock medication. So far opioids for self-administration with a rapid onset of action
have not been available. Recently a nasal formulation of fentanyl (an opioid similar to
morphine) was released in Europe for treatment of breakthrough pain, i.e. an unpredictable
pain with short duration that breaks through the otherwise stable pain controlled with the
around the clock medication. The basic idea is that this formulation may open for patient
controlled analgesia of chronic cancer pain, due to the ultra rapid onset of action of
nasally delivered fentanyl. This means that the patient only takes medication when in pain.
This single center feasibility / safety study is the first part of a study to investigate
this alternative cancer pain treatment approach.