• Sebastiano Mercadante.
• Main Regional Center for Pain Relief and Supportive/palliative Care, La Maddalena Cancer Center, Palermo, Italy.
• Curr. Pharm. Des. 2019 Jan 1; 25 (30): 3197-3202.

BackgroundOpioids are the cornerstone of the management of cancer pain. However, the development of adverse effects may compromise the opioid response. They include nausea and vomiting, constipation, drowsiness, sleep disorders, cognitive dysfunction, myoclonus, pruritus, dysuria, dependence and the development of aberrant behaviors, respiratory depression, and some endocrine responses.MethodsThe goal of this paper is to identify the most common opioid-related adverse effects, their pathophysiology, and proposing the possible treatments. This narrative review will describe how these adverse effects may develop and how to prevent or to treat.ConclusionIntensity of adverse effects tend to decrease with continuous use. However, they may be persistent and may require symptomatic treatment or more complex treatment including alternative strategies for pain management.Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.

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