Slatkin, N.E., Rhiner, M.I., Gould, E.M., Ma, T., & Ahdieh, H. (2010). Long-term tolerability and effectiveness of oxymorphone extended release in patients with cancer. Journal of Opioid Management, 6(3), 181–191.
To evaluate the long-term safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of oxymorphone, extended release (ER), used to relieve cancer-related pain
Patients who had been taking oxymorphone ER in a previous study continued the dose they had been taking. Patients who had been taking a comparator opioid switched to an equianalgesic dose of oxymorphone ER. All patients underwent individualized dose titration to optimize effectiveness and tolerability of the opioid.
Multisite
Post-hoc analysis of two open-label extension studies, each at least one year long
Of the 80 patients who entered the extension trial, 26 completed all 52 weeks. Seven patients discontinued the trial because of loss of medication effectiveness; 20 discontinued because of adverse events, most of which were unrelated to the study drug. Authors observed no significant increase in average pain intensity. The most common adverse events were concomitant disease progression (which 28.8% of patients experienced, n = 23), nausea (22.5%, n = 18), dyspnea (16.3%, n = 13), fatigue (16.3%, n = 13), and edema of the lower limb (15%, n = 12).
Patients appear to tolerate oxymorphone ER well. Oxymorphone ER provided stable long-term pain control, making it a potential alternative in the management of long-term pain.
In this study oxymorphone ER was a well-tolerated opioid that provided long-term control of cancer-related pain. In appropriate contexts, clinicians may want to consider oxymorphone ER an alternative to standard medication.