Intravenous flurbiprofen axetil enhances analgesic effect of opioids in patients with refractory cancer pain by increasing plasma β-endorphin

Involvement of the Opioid Peptide Family in Cancer Progression

Peptides mediate cancer progression favoring the mitogenesis, migration, and invasion of tumor cells, promoting metastasis and anti-apoptotic mechanisms, and facilitating angiogenesis/lymphangiogenesis. Tumor cells overexpress peptide receptors, crucial targets for developing specific treatments against cancer cells using peptide receptor antagonists and promoting apoptosis in tumor cells. Opioids exert an antitumoral effect, whereas others promote tumor growth and metastasis. This review updates the findings regarding the involvement of opioid peptides (enkephalins, endorphins, and dynorphins) in cancer development. Anticancer therapeutic strategies targeting the opioid peptidergic system and the main research lines to be developed regarding the topic reviewed are suggested. There is much to investigate about opioid peptides and cancer: basic information is scarce, incomplete, or absent in many tumors. This knowledge is crucial since promising anticancer strategies could be developed alone or in combination therapies with chemotherapy/radiotherapy.

Does aerobic exercise training alter responses to opioid analgesics in individuals with chronic low back pain? A randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT

We tested whether aerobic exercise training altered morphine analgesic responses or reduced morphine dosages necessary for adequate analgesia. Patients with chronic back pain were randomized to an 18-session aerobic exercise intervention (n = 38) or usual activity control (n = 45). Before and after the intervention, participants underwent 3 laboratory sessions (double-blinded, crossover) to assess effects of saline placebo, i.v. morphine (0.09 mg/kg), and i.v. naloxone (12 mg) on low back pain and evoked heat pain responses. Differences in evoked and back pain measures between the placebo and morphine conditions indexed morphine analgesia, with pre-post intervention changes the primary outcome. Endogenous opioid analgesia was indexed by differences in evoked and low back pain measures between the naloxone and placebo conditions. A Sex X Intervention interaction on the analgesic effects of morphine on visual analogue scale back pain intensity was observed (P = 0.046), with a similar trend for evoked pain threshold (P = 0.093). Male exercisers showed reduced morphine analgesia pre-post intervention, whereas male controls showed increased analgesia (with no differences in females). Of clinical significance were findings that relative to the control group, aerobic exercise produced analgesia more similar to that observed after receiving ≈7 mg morphine preintervention (P < 0.045). Greater pre-post intervention increases in endogenous opioid function (from any source) were significantly associated with larger pre-post intervention decreases in morphine analgesia (P < 0.046). The overall pattern of findings suggests that regular aerobic exercise has limited direct effects on morphine responsiveness, reducing morphine analgesia in males only.

Effect of patient-controlled intravenous analgesia combined with flurbiprofen axetil and dezocine on postoperative analgesia for lobectomy (EPIC-FAD): a trial protocol

BACKGROUND

The optimal analgesic strategy for surgical pain after lobectomy remains undefined. To compare the combination of flurbiprofen axetil and dezocine with flurbiprofen axetil alone and dezocine alone, in post-lobectomy patients.

METHODS

A single-center, parallel-design double-blind superiority trial, with 5 groups (1:1:1:1:1 ratio) with different combinations of flurbiprofen and dezocine. Patients scheduled for lobectomy will be recruited. The primary outcome is total sufentanil use in patient-controlled intravenous analgesia within the first 24 postoperative hours. Secondary outcomes include pain numeric rating scales at 6th, 12th, 24th, 48th, and 72th postoperative hours, and on the 1st, 3rd, and 6th postoperative months at rest and during coughing, adverse effects from experimental drug treatment, sufentanil use at other time points, analgesia cost, time to chest tube removal, length of hospital stay, time to pass first flatus, and serum level of cytokines. Doctors, patients, and nurses are blinded, and only the manager is unblinded. Analysis is intention-to-treat. Statistical analysis is pre-specified. Statistical comparison of the treatment groups includes one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's post hoc test.

DISCUSSION

Trial did not begin to recruit. Participant recruitment start date is planned to be June 1, 2020. Approximate recruitment end date is May 31, 2021. If successful, the trial may shed light on the use of certain analgesic combinations in post-lobectomy pain control.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1800018563 . Registered on September 25, 2018.

Comparison of the nephroprotective effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in vitro and in vivo

Cisplatin (CDDP) is an anticancer drug, often used in the treatment of several types of cancers. CDDP-induced nephrotoxicity (CIN) is one of the most severe adverse events associated with the use of CDDP. It has been suggested that the co-administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is a risk factor for CIN. However, the specific NSAIDs that affect CIN and the precise mechanisms underlying this interaction remain unclear. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the effect of NSAIDs on CDDP-induced cytotoxicity in vitro and confirmed the results in vivo. Using the epithelioid clone of the normal rat kidney cells (NRK-52E cells), we assessed the effects of 17 NSAIDs on CDDP-induced cytotoxicity all at once using the MTT assay. Furthermore, we evaluated two NSAIDs, which significantly attenuated or enhanced CDDP-induced cytotoxicity, in vivo. Wistar rats were treated with CDDP (5 mg/kg, i.p., day 1) and NSAIDs (p.o., day 1-4), and the kidneys were excised on day 5. Our results demonstrated that several NSAIDs attenuated, while others enhanced CDDP-induced cytotoxicity. Celecoxib significantly attenuated and flurbiprofen markedly enhanced cell dysfunction by CDDP. These results were reproduced in vivo as celecoxib decreased and flurbiprofen increased the expression of kidney injury molecule 1 (Kim-1) mRNA, a sensitive kidney injury marker, compared to the CDDP group. Moreover, celecoxib increased the antioxidant and autophagy markers quantified by qPCR in vitro and prevented a decrease in body weight induced by CDDP in vivo. In conclusion, we revealed that celecoxib significantly attenuated CIN in vitro and in vivo.

Do Resting Plasma β-Endorphin Levels Predict Responses to Opioid Analgesics?

OBJECTIVES

Clinically feasible predictors of opioid analgesic responses for use in precision pain medicine protocols are needed. This study evaluated whether resting plasma β-endorphin (BE) levels predicted responses to an opioid analgesic, and whether chronic pain status or sex moderated these effects.

METHODS

Participants included 73 individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and 88 pain-free controls, all using no daily opioid analgesics. Participants attended 2 identical laboratory sessions during which they received either intravenous morphine (0.08 mg/kg) or saline placebo, with blood samples obtained before drug administration to assay resting plasma BE levels. Once peak drug activity was achieved in each session, participants engaged in an ischemic forearm pain task (ISC) and a heat pain task. Morphine analgesic effects were derived reflecting the difference in pain outcomes between placebo and morphine conditions.

RESULTS

In hierarchical regressions, significant Type (CLBP vs. control)×BE interactions (Ps<0.05) were noted for morphine effects on ISC tolerance, ISC intratask pain ratings, and thermal VAS unpleasantness ratings. These interactions derived primarily from associations between higher BE levels and smaller morphine effects restricted to the CLBP subgroup. All other BE-related effects, including sex interactions, for predicting morphine analgesia failed to reach statistical significance.

DISCUSSION

BE was a predictor of morphine analgesia for only 3 out of 9 outcomes examined, with these effects moderated by chronic pain status but not sex. On the whole, results do not suggest that resting plasma BE levels are likely to be a clinically useful predictor of opioid analgesic responses.

Effects of flurbiprofen on serum level of interleukin-6, prostacyclin and corticosteroid A2 in patients with bone metastases of cancer

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of flurbiprofen on serum level of interleukin-6 (IL-6), prostacyclin (PGI2) and corticosteroid A2 (TXA2) in patients with bone metastases of cancer. A total of 210 patients with bone metastasis of cancer were randomly divided into two groups: Flurbiprofen axetil analgesia group (group A) and dezocine analgesia group (group B), 105 cases in each group. The analgesic effect was evaluated using visual analogue scale (VAS) scoring system at 1, 12, 24 and 48 h after treatment. Serum levels of IL-6, PGI2 and TXA2 at 12 and 24 h after treatment were detected using double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. No significant differences in VAS scores were found between the two groups at 1, 12, 24 and 48 h after treatment, and no gastrointestinal adverse events and abnormal bleeding were observed. No significant differences in the serum levels of IL-6 were found between the two groups at 12 and 24 h after treatment. Significantly lower serum levels of TXA2 and PGI2 were found in group A compared to group B at 12 and 24 h after treatment (P<0.05). Serum level of PGI2 was positively correlated with serum level of TXA2 (r=0.7212, P<0.05) and VAS score (r=0.7159, P<0.05). Serum level of IL-6 was positively correlated with VAS score (r=0.7997, P<0.05). The results show that flurbiprofen axetil can effectively relieve pain in patients with bone metastases of cancer, can inhibit platelet activation, adhesion and aggregation, and reduce the formation of deep vein thrombosis, and can inhibit stress response and inflammatory response in the body.