Mesothelioma Treatment May Be Adversely Affected By Morphine

Researchers have found that the pain-relieving medication morphine, often used on mesothelioma patients for pain management, may accelerate cancer growth.

Several studies have begun to present evidence that opiate-based drugs like morphine encourage cancer cell growth and metastasis. Morphine is a commonly prescribed pain reliever for malignant mesothelioma patients. Since treatment for mesothelioma patients tends to be palliative in many cases, pain management with morphine is a common practice.

A study from 2002 found cancer patients who received morphine via the spine, instead of systemically throughout the body, tended to live longer.  Two Irish studies discovered that breast and prostate cancer patients who received regional rather than general anesthesia were less likely to report cancer recurrence.

Studies have shown that morphine boosts tumor growth and even inhibits immune system response. Opiates also support angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, which plays a role in metastasis. The latest studies are examining the effects of blocking opiate receptors on cancer cells with a drug known as Relistor (methylnaltrexone), which is presently used to treat constipation caused by medications like morphine.

In laboratory test tubes methylnaltrexone prevented lung cancer cells from spreading. And when tested on genetically altered mice that lack the opiate receptor (simulating the blocking of the receptor), normal mice developed cancer while the genetically altered mice did not.

Methylnaltrexone was found to reduce the spread of cancer in mice by 90 percent, inhibiting both cancer growth and metastasis. The next step, say researchers, is testing the drug in humans for such effects. These findings could benefit mesothelioma patients by mediating the negative effects of morphine for pain management.

Additional information on mesothelioma may be found through the Mesothelioma Center.


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