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Apolone G, Bertetto O, Caraceni A, Corli O, De Conno F, Labianca R, Maltoni M, Nicora M, Torri V, Zucco F. Pain in cancer. An outcome research project to evaluate the epidemiology, the quality and the effects of pain treatment in cancer patients. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2006; 4:7. [PMID: 16457716 PMCID: PMC1402259 DOI: 10.1186/1477-7525-4-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2005] [Accepted: 02/02/2006] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Management of pain related to advanced or metastatic cancer, although the availability of several pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions and the existence of well-known guidelines and protocols, is often difficult and inadequate. Evidence of the relative effectiveness of current options for treating cancer pain from comparative randomized studies is scanty. METHODS In the context of a wider project, a multicenter, open label, prospective Outcome Research study will be launched in Italy in 2006 to investigate the epidemiology of cancer pain and of its treatments, the quality of analgesic-drug therapy and the effectiveness of alternative analgesic strategies in a large, prospective, unselected cohort of cancer patients using the state-of-the art of patient-reported-outcomes. About 100 Italian centers will recruit 2500 patients with advanced/progressive/metastatic cancer with pain (related to the cancer disease) requiring analgesic treatments. Each center is expected to recruit 25 consecutive and eligible patients during the study inception period. Approximately two months will be allowed for subject recruitment and enrollment. Subject evaluation and follow-up will be for 3 months. The effect on outcomes of various therapeutic analgesic options administered by physicians, given the observational approach where patients are not assigned at random to different treatments, will be compared using the propensity score approach, allowing the adjustment for treatment selection bias. Later, after the launch of the observational study and on the basis of results, in specific subsamples of patients and in select centers of the network, a Randomized Controlled Trial will be carried out to formally compare the efficacy of alternative analgesic strategies, with particular emphasis on oral morphine (as comparator) and buprenorphine patch (as experimental arm). Results from the outcome (cohort) and experimental (Randomized Controlled Trial) studies will ensure both the external and internal validity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Apolone
- Laboratorio di Ricerca Traslazionale e di Outcome, Dipartimento di Oncologia, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milan, Italy
| | - Oscar Bertetto
- Oncologia Medica, Ospedale Molinette, C.so Bramante 88, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Augusto Caraceni
- Unità Operativa Cure Palliative, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via Venezian 1, 20123 Milan, Italy
| | - Oscar Corli
- Unità Operativa Cure Palliative, Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, P.O. "Vittore Buzzi", Via Castelvetro 32, 20154 Milan, Italy
| | - Franco De Conno
- Unità Operativa Cure Palliative, Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via Venezian 1, 20123 Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Labianca
- Oncologia Medica, Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo, Largo Barozzi 1, 24100 Bergamo, Italy
| | - Marco Maltoni
- Hospice Forlimpopoli, ASL Forli Cure Palliative Via Duca D'Aosta 33, 47034 Forlimpopoli (FC), Italy
| | - Mariaflavia Nicora
- Direzione Medica, Grunenthal-Formenti, Via Correggio 43, 20149 Milan, Italy
| | - Valter Torri
- Laboratorio di Ricerca Clinica Oncologica, Dipartimento di Oncologia, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milan, Italy
| | - Furio Zucco
- Hospice Garbagnate, Cure Palliative AO Salvini Viale Forlanini, 121 20024 Garbagnate Milanese (MI), Italy
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Cavuto S, Bravi F, Grassi M, Apolone G. Propensity score for the analysis of observational data: an introduction and an illustrative example. Drug Dev Res 2006. [DOI: 10.1002/ddr.20079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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