The Clinical journal of pain
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Effects of transdermal buprenorphine on patients-reported outcomes in cancer patients: results from the Cancer Pain Outcome Research (CPOR) Study Group.
Pain still afflicts most cancer patients, mainly in the metastatic phases, and under-treatment is well documented. Transdermal delivery systems (TDS) containing fentanyl or buprenorphine could potentiality have advantages over oral and parenteral routes, but evidence from comparative trials are scanty. In the framework of a wider initiative, an Outcome Research Study was carried out in Italy in 2006 to evaluate the effects of various analgesic options, particularly buprenorphine TDS. ⋯ Despite the limitations owing to the observational design, these findings may be useful to clinicians to judge the value of the drug under evaluation better and to help researchers design further comparative studies.