Table 1.
Clinical research about MOR, opioids, and outcome
| Authors | Year | Organ(s) | Patient Sample(s) | Methods | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X Wang, et al. (PMID: 36739595) | 2023 | Bladder | 44 | Two groups: a GA group or a combined GA+E group. GA group received regular GA, which utilized sufentanil and remifentanil for pain relief during surgery and sufentanil for postoperative pain control. GA+E group received a combined epidural-GA, where both intra- and postoperative pain relief was provided by epidural ropivacaine. | On the 3rd day post-surgery, CTCs numbers were significantly lower in the GA+E group than in the GA group, and this effect was still observed at the 1 month after surgery time point. |
| Lili Yu, et al. (PMID: 36585623) | 2022 | Breast | 526 | Patients were recruited and randomized into general anesthesia group and general anesthesia with Pectoral nerve block type II block group. | Pectoral nerve block type II declined the remifentanil consumption and had no significant influence on the OS and RFS of breast cancer patients compared with the general anesthesia group (more remifentanil). |
| Steele GL, et al. (PMID: 32482952) | 2020 | Pancreas | 103 | Patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma received chemotherapy, in addition to pain, opioid exposure, survival, and imaging response. Mu-opioid receptor expression was evaluated using an immunohistochemistry assay. | High opioid use is associated with decreased survival, but the severity of baseline pain and mu-opioid receptor expression score in tumor tissue does not correlate with clinical outcomes. |
| H Zhang, et al. (PMID: 32900505) | 2020 | Laryngeal | 207 | Retrospective study. The expression pattern of the MOR protein and OPRM1 gene in tumors and corresponding adjacent non-carcinoma specimens was measured. Propensity score matching was used to minimise bias. The primary endpoints were OS and DFS. | Increased mu-opioid receptor expression is associated with reduced disease-free and overall survival in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. |
| Boudreau DM, et al. (PMID: 30945381) | 2019 | Breast | 4216 | Cohort study of women ≥18 years, diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Chronic opioid use was defined as 75+ days of use in any moving 90-day window after breast cancer diagnosis and varied to 150+ days in a 180-day window in a sensitivity analysis. | Breast cancer survivors who consistently utilize opioids for a prolonged duration are at a higher risk of experiencing a recurrence or development of a second breast cancer event. |
| Hasegawa T, et al. (PMID: 29893612) | 2018 | Lung | 150 | OS, opioid requirements, opioid doses, pain levels, and prognostic factors of advanced NSCLC were evaluated. | The opioid dose does not shorten the survival of patients with advanced NSCLC. The opioid requirement is associated with shorter survival when opioids are administered any time during the clinical course, independent of the influence of other key factors. |
| Kim N Du, et al. (PMID: 29757780) | 2018 | Esophageal | 1153 | Records of patients who had undergone esophageal cancer surgery were reviewed. Comparisons were made between patients who received high versus low intraoperative doses of opioids. | The amounts of intraoperative opioids used are associated with recurrence and OS in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The association between the dose of intraoperative opioids used and RFS was marginally significant in patients with adenocarcinoma. |
| Akbari M, et al. (PMID: 26317596) | 2015 | Bladder | 198 | Patients and healthy individuals (matched in age, sex and residence (urban/rural)) were investigated. Data about the consumption of opium and its derivatives, tobacco, alcohol and diet were collected using a structured valid and reliable questionnaire. | Opium consumption was associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. |
| Cronin-Fenton DP, et al. (PMID: 26207518) | 2015 | Breast | 34188 | Opioid prescriptions were ascertained from the authority. Follow-up began on the date of primary surgery for breast cancer and continued until breast cancer recurrence, death, emigration, 10 years, or July 31, 2013, whichever occurred first. | No clinically relevant evidence of an association between opioid prescriptions and breast cancer recurrence. |
| Cata JP, et al. (PMID: 26371714) | 2015 | Laryngeal | 195 | Patients with laryngeal primary or recurrent laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma who had surgery were included. Intravenous opioids and other factors were applied to assess the effects of covariates of interest on OS and RFS. | The association between intraoperative opioid use and cancer recurrence after laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma surgery was weak. |
| Minami S, et al. (PMID: 25564223) | 2015 | Lung | 369 | Compared survival times, calculated from the time of the last hospitalization or the last chemotherapy, between patients who had not used any opioids, those who had used a low dose (<60 mg/day), and those who had used a higher dose (≥60 mg/day). | Opioid use had no significant adverse effect on survival in patients. |
| Forget P, et al. (PMID: 21946823) | 2011 | Prostate | 1111 | Retrospective study includes 1111 consecutive retropubic radical prostatectomies (RRPs) for localized prostate cancer. Median follow-up was 38 months (interquartile range 16-69). | Intraoperative sufentanil administration is associated with an increased risk of cancer relapse, whereas epidural analgesia, with local anesthetic and opioid, was not associated with a significant effect. |
GA: general anesthesia. GA+E: general-epidural anesthesia. CTCs: circulating tumor cells. OS: overall survival. RFS: recurrence free survival. DFS: disease-free survival. NSCLC: non small-cell lung cancer.