New research from the US adds weight to the growing body of evidence that opiate-based painkillers like morphine, which has been used to treat postoperative and chronic cancer pain for two hundred years, encourage cancer cells to grow and spread. If confirmed with clinical studies, these findings could change the type of anasthetics given to cancer patients during surgery and the type of painkillers they use afterwards.
“If confirmed clinically, this could change how we do surgical anesthesia for our cancer patients,” said Dr Patrick A Singleton, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center and principal author of both studies.
“It also suggests potential new applications for this novel class of drugs which should be explored,” he added.
Morphine can increase tumor cell proliferation, inhibit the immune system, promote the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) that feed tumors and decrease barrier function. In cancer patients undergoing surgery, decreased barrier function may make it easier for tumors to invade tissue and spread to other parts of the body, while increased angiogenesis helps tumors thrive in a new location.
