Common pain medication 'may promote cancer growth'

Morphine has been used by healthcare professionals for over 200 years to help minimise pain in patients, many of whom are cancer sufferers.

However, new research has suggested that this very common medication may actually promote cancer growth in some people.

The radical study was conducted by experts at the University of Chicago Medical Center in the US, who told private health cover holders that the findings may change cancer surgery forever.

Lead author Dr Patrick Singleton, assistant professor of medicine at the facility, commented: "If confirmed clinically, this could change how we do surgical anaesthesia for our cancer patients. It also suggests potential new applications for this novel class of drugs which should be explored."

According to the specialist, previous studies have shown that cancer patients who were given a drug to shield the effects of opiates saw reduced cell proliferation, invasion and migration in both cancer cell culture and mouse models.

In association with experts including anaesthesiologist Jonathan Moss and Dr Joe Garcia, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, the team found that morphine can directly boost tumour-cell proliferation and inhibit the immune response.

They also discovered that opiates also promote angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, and decrease barrier function, which may exacerbate diseases involving vascular leakiness such as acute lung injury.

Mr Moss told those with affordable health insurance that the results were consistent with many opiates used to treat cancer patients, specifically those with lung cancer, and said that research needs to be done to ascertain whether surgical procedures should be adapted accordingly

"These experimental data suggest a plausible explanation for the epidemiologic observations. If these laboratory studies are confirmed clinically, the selection of anaesthetic technique used during the operative procedure and the possible use of opiate antagonists in the perioperative period may be important," he concluded.

By Stephen Tate

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