Association between long-term opioid use and cancer risk in patients with chronic pain. Comment on Br J Anaesth 2022; 129: 84–91

Editor—We read with great interest the article by Sun and colleagues 1 Sun M. Lin J.A. Chang C.L. Wu S.Y. Zhang J. Association between long-term opioid use and cancer risk in patients with chronic pain: a propensity score-matched cohort study. Br J Anaesth. 2022 Jul; 129: 84-91 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar reporting that patients with chronic pain and long-term opioid use had an increased risk for development of cancer. We would like to highlight some key points regarding their study. Association between long-term opioid use and cancer risk in patients with chronic pain: a propensity score-matched cohort studyBritish Journal of AnaesthesiaVol. 129Issue 1PreviewWhether long-term opioid use is an independent risk factor for cancer progression remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted a propensity score-matched population-based cohort study to compare cancer incidence between patients with chronic pain with and without opioid use. Full-Text PDF Association between long-term opioid use and cancer risk in patients with chronic pain. Response to Br J Anaesth 2022; 129: e104–5British Journal of AnaesthesiaVol. 130Issue 6PreviewEditor—In response to the comments made by Chu and colleagues1 on our recent publication,2 we beg to differ by presenting relevant data based on established epidemiological methodologies. Firstly, it is important to note that chronic pain was not the primary outcome of our study. Instead, the focus was on the accurate use of opioids in chronic pain patients. Although self-reported symptoms or questionnaires, such as the numerical rating scale (NRS) or visual analogue scale (VAS), serve as potential indicators of chronic pain, these methods have limitations, including subjectivity, variability in pain experiences, bias in education levels, and limitations in measuring changes over time and in certain populations. Full-Text PDF