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Updated: May 3, 2026

Author Spotlight: Methodologies and Advancements of Chronic Pain Management Research
Published on: January 5, 2024
[Use of methadone in the elderly with cancer pain: a systematic review]
Miren Taberna1, Christian Villavicencio-Chávez2, Jesús González-Barboteo3
1Servicio de Oncología Médica, Institut Català d́Oncologia, Hospital Duràn i Reynals, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, España.
Objective:
To identify the clinical use of methadone as an analgesic in the management of cancer pain in elderly patients.
Material And Methods:
We performed a systemic review of the literature on the specific use of methadone in elderly with cancer pain in MEDLINE, COCHRANE DATABASE and SCOPUS. A second search was conducted in MEDLINE to look for clinical trials and systematic review of the use of methadone in cancer pain, selecting only those in which the mean age of patients was ≥ 65 years old.
Results:
Four articles were obtained in the first search, and from the second 7 clinical trials, none of them specific to methadone use in elderly patients with cancer.
Conclusions:
There are insufficient data on the use of methadone as an analgesic in the elderly with cancer. Given its pharmacological characteristics it must be used by trained personnel. Several recommendations are proposed for its use as an analgesic in the treatment of cancer pain in the elderly.
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