Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2025

A Portal Vein Injection Model to Study Liver Metastasis of Breast Cancer
Published on: December 26, 2016
Opium Use and Cancer Risk: A Comprehensive Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
Masoume Mansouri1, Sina Naghshi2,3, Mahbobeh Parsaeian4
1Digestive Disease Research Center, Digestive Disease Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
Background:
Epidemiological studies have reported inconsistent associations between opium use and cancer risk. We therefore conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between opium use and cancer risk.
Methods:
We searched PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Google Scholar until February 2021 and references of retrieved relevant articles for observational studies that reported the risk of cancer in relation to opium use. Random-effects models were used to calculate pooled effect sizes (ESs) as well as 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between opium use and cancer risk by considering opium doses and types, duration of consumption, and routes of opium use.
Results:
In total, 21 observational articles, with a total sample size of 64,412 individuals and 6,658 cases of cancer, were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Ever opium users, compared with never opium users, had 3.53 times greater risk of overall cancer (pooled ES: 3.53, 95% CI: 2.60-4.79, P ≤ 0.01). This positive association was also seen for some individual types of cancers except for esophageal and colon cancers. Also, we found that higher opium doses and higher duration of consumption were associated with an increased risk of overall and individual types of cancer. However, the associations between opium doses and the risk of head and neck and larynx cancers were not significant. In terms of the routes of opium use, both opium ingestion and smoking were positively associated with the risk of cancer. Regarding opium types, we found that using teriak, but not shireh, could increase the risk of cancer.
Conclusions:
Our findings showed that opium use, particularly in the form of teriak, is a risk factor for cancer.
Related Concept Videos
Statistical Methods for Analyzing Epidemiological Data
Cancer Prevention
Some...
Opioid Analgesics: Morphine and Other Natural Cogeners
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Cancer Survival Analysis
Analgesia and Pain Management
