Long-Acting Oral Morphine in Cancer Pain Analgesia

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Abstract
Twenty cancer patients completed this dosing-range comparison of two oral analgesics: controlled-release morphine sulfate as MS Contin (MSC) and immediate-release morphine sulfate (IRMS). The study design reflected a practical, clinical protocol in which an analgesic was titrated to a level achieving adequate pain relief with acceptable side effects. Regardless of the prestudy opioid, each patient was successfully converted to IRMS q4h, then MSC ql2h or q8h. Fifteen of sixteen patients tried on the MSC, twice daily regimen were successfully maintained. All of the every-12-h successes were placed directly on this regimen, avoiding the every-8-h program. Both patients and investigators judged MSC to be equal to or better than IRMS and prestudy analgesics in terms of pain control and side effects. Long-term treatment with MSC (up to 1 year) revealed no evidence of tolerance development nor psychological dependence.

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