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Could Opioids Affect Cancer Recurrence or Metastases? Current Experimental and Translational Evidence

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Morphine and Metastasis

Abstract

‘Firstly, do no harm’ – a fundamental principle in the practice of medicine. Opioids have long been the mainstay in the treatment of acute and chronic cancer pain, but can opioids administered to cancer patients during the course of their treatment actually do more harm than good? This chapter examines the current experimental and translational research relating to opioids and their potential effect on cancer recurrence and metastases.

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Abbreviations

BAEC:

bovine aortic endothelial cells

JNK:

c-Jun N-terminal kinase

COX-2:

cyclooxygenase-2

CTL:

cytotoxic T lymphocytes

DNA:

deoxyribo nucleic acid

ERAS:

enhanced recovery after surgery

FADD:

Fas-associated death domain

HPA:

hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal

IL-10:

interleukin 10

IL-1β:

interleukin 1β

IL-2:

interleukin 2

JNK:

c-Jun N-terminal Kinase

LLC:

Lewis Lung Carcinoma

MSC:

mesenchymal stem cell

MMP:

matrix metalloproteinase

MAPK:

mitogen-activated protein kinase

MOR:

mu opioid receptor

NK:

Natural killer

NSCLC:

non small cell lung cancer

NFκB:

nuclear factor kappa B

PDGFR-β:

PDGF receptor-beta

PDGF-BB:

platelet-derived growth factor-BB

PGE2:

prostaglandin E2

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

TGF-β:

transforming growth factor beta

TNFα:

tumour necrosis factor alpha

uPA:

urokinase type plasminogen activator

VEGF:

vascular endothelial growth factor

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Acknowledgements

We thank JoAnne Baran and Linda Gricourt for technical help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anaesthesia, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin 7, Ireland

    Hilary Shanahan & Donal Buggy

  2. Outcomes Research Consortium, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Marie-Odile Parat & Donal Buggy

  3. School of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence, University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia

    Marie-Odile Parat

Authors
  1. Hilary Shanahan
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  2. Marie-Odile Parat
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  3. Donal Buggy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Donal Buggy .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland, Cornwall Street 20, Woolloongabba, QLD4102, Australia

    Marie-Odile Parat

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Shanahan, H., Parat, MO., Buggy, D. (2013). Could Opioids Affect Cancer Recurrence or Metastases? Current Experimental and Translational Evidence. In: Parat, MO. (eds) Morphine and Metastasis. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5678-6_6

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