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Updated: Oct 26, 2025

Author Spotlight: Exploring the Role of Ion Channels in Cancer: Characterization and Potential Treatment Approaches
Published on: June 16, 2023
Targeting the mu-Opioid Receptor for Cancer Treatment
Hao Zhang1, Di Zhou1, Jiahui Gu1
1Department of Anesthesiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180# Feng-Lin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Purpose Of Review:
Opioids are still the most effective and widely used treatments for acute and chronic pain in cancer patients. This review focuses on the impact of opioids and mu-opioid receptors (MOR) on tumor progression and providing new ideas for targeting the MOR in cancer treatment.
Recent Findings:
Studies estimated that opioids facilitate tumor progression and are related to the worse prognosis in cancer patients. As the primary receptor of opioids, MOR is involved in the regulation of malignant transformation of tumors and participating in proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. MOR may be a new molecular marker of malignant tumors and thus become a new target for cancer therapy, which may be beneficial to the outcomes of cancer patients.
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