AI Article Synopsis

  • Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) affects up to 63% of cancer patients, prompting a study to evaluate the quality of life and effectiveness of naloxegol for those with OIC.
  • An observational study involved 126 cancer patients who showed inadequate laxative response and were treated with naloxegol, using specific questionnaires to measure outcomes over three months.
  • Results showed significant improvements in quality of life, increased bowel movements, and pain management after 15 days of treatment, with a good safety profile and only a small percentage experiencing mild to moderate gastrointestinal side effects.

Article Abstract

Objectives: Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) can affect up to 63% of all patients with cancer. The objectives of this study were to assess quality of life as well as efficacy and safety of naloxegol, in patients with cancer with OIC.

Methods: An observational study was made of a cohort of patients with cancer and with OIC exhibiting an inadequate response to laxatives and treated with naloxegol. The sample consisted of adult outpatients with a Karnofsky performance status score ≥50. The Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAC-QOL) and the Patient Assessment of Constipation Symptoms (PAC-SYM) were applied for 3 months.

Results: A total of 126 patients (58.2% males) with a mean age of 61.3 years (range 34-89) were included. Clinically relevant improvements (>0.5 points) were recorded in the PAC-QOL and PAC-SYM questionnaires (p<0.0001) from 15 days of treatment. The number of days a week with complete spontaneous bowel movements increased significantly (p<0.0001) from 2.4 to 4.6 on day 15, 4.7 after 1 month and 5 after 3 months. Pain control significantly improved (p<0.0001) during follow-up. A total of 13.5% of the patients (17/126) presented some gastrointestinal adverse reaction, mostly of mild (62.5%) or moderate intensity (25%).

Conclusions: Clinically relevant improvements in OIC-related quality of life, number of bowel movements and constipation-related symptoms were recorded as early as after 15 days of treatment with naloxegol in patients with cancer and OIC, with a good safety profile.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7907572PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002249DOI Listing

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