Choosing an opioid analgesic for cancer patients

The following is a supplement to the article on the management of cancer pain which appeared in the January edition of AFP. It will provide some more detailed information on the choice and prescribing of opioid analgesics other than morphine for cancer patients. One should, of course, bear in mind many of the comments made in the original article regarding the holistic assessment of patients and their pain, the use of adjuvant therapies and alternatives. For more complete information regarding their use and pharmacokinetics one may need to consult product information, MIMS or one of the excellent short books designed for GPs.