• Ravi K Grandhi, Samuel Lee, and Alaa Abd-Elsayed.
• College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, OH, USA.
• Pain Med. 2017 Jan 1; 18 (1): 140-151.

ObjectiveTo provide a comprehensive overview of the potential for morphine to lead to angiogenesis and metastasis.BackgroundMorphine is often the treatment of choice for severe cancer-related pain. Small studies have been emerging that indicate that opioids may influence angiogenesis and metastasis, but this has not yet been comprehensively synthesized.PurposeTo highlight morphine's relationship with angiogenesis and metastasis in in vitro models.MethodA review of the literature was conducted using PubMed (1966 to 2015) and Cochrane Library (1987 to 2015) electronic databases. The search, as well as consultation with experts, yielded 84 articles for initial review, 12 of which met inclusion for review. Possible theories of the underlying etiology of the metastasis and angiogenesis were recorded.ResultsAll studies were assessed using the PRISMA checklist.ConclusionThis systematic review demonstrates that morphine has a potential causal relationship with angiogenesis and metastasis. This is likely due to multiple etiologies, including immunosuppressive, pro-inflammatory, and pro-angiogenetic.© 2016 American Academy of Pain Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

15 keywords...

hide…