Oral transmucosal fentanyl: new preparation. For breakthrough cancer pain when morphine fails

(1) Some cancer patients suffer occasional breakthrough pain despite well-conducted opiate treatment, warranting the use of immediate-release oral morphine. (2) A fentanyl preparation for oral transmucosal administration has just been granted this indication in France. (3) The evaluation file mainly contains results from a randomised double-blind cross-over trial comparing transmucosal fentanyl with oral morphine tablets in cancer patients. It showed a small gain in terms of rapidity and efficacy of pain relief with fentanyl relative to morphine, but this was of dubious clinical relevance. (4) The adverse effects of oral transmucosal fentanyl are those of all opiates, such as drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and confusion. (5) The oral transmucosal fentanyl preparation has the taste and appearance of a lollipop, and may therefore be attractive to children. The packaging seems to take this risk into account, but precautions must be taken to keep this treatment away from children, especially after opening. (6) Immediate-release oral morphine remains the standard treatment for breakthrough pain in patients receiving opiate therapy. If it is inadequate, oral transmucosal fentanyl may sometimes be slightly better.