Efficacy and safety of controlled-release oxycodone/naloxone versus controlled-release oxycodone in Korean patients with cancer-related pain: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background: Controlled-release oxycodone/naloxone (OXN-CR) maintains the effect of opioid-induced analgesia through oxycodone while reducing the occurrence rate of opioid-induced constipation through naloxone. The present study was designed to assess the non-inferiority of OXN-CR to controlled-release oxycodone (OX-CR) for the control of cancer-related pain in Korean patients.

Methods: In this randomized, open-labeled, parallel-group, phase IV study, we enrolled patients aged 20 years or older with moderate to severe cancer-related pain [numeric rating scale (NRS) pain score ≥4] from seven Korean oncology/hematology centers. Patients in the intention-to-treat (ITT) population were randomized (1:1) to OXN-CR or OX-CR groups. OXN-CR was administered starting at 20 mg/10 mg per day and up-titrated to a maximum of 80 mg/40 mg per day for 4 weeks, and OX-CR was administered starting at 20 mg/day and up-titrated to a maximum of 80 mg/day for 4 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change in NRS pain score from baseline to week 4, with non-inferiority margin of -1.5. Secondary endpoints included analgesic rescue medication intake, patient-reported change in bowel habits, laxative intake, quality of life (QoL), and safety assessments.

Results: Of the ITT population comprising 128 patients, 7 with missing primary efficacy data and 4 who violated the eligibility criteria were excluded from the efficacy analysis. At week 4, the mean change in NRS pain scores was not significantly different between the OXN-CR group (n = 58) and the OX-CR group (n = 59) (-1.586 vs. -1.559, P = 0.948). The lower limit of the one-sided 95% confidence interval (-0.776 to 0.830) for the difference exceeded the non-inferiority margin (P < 0.001). The OXN-CR and OX-CR groups did not differ significantly in terms of analgesic rescue medication intake, change in bowel habits, laxative intake, QoL, and safety assessments.

Conclusions: OXN-CR was non-inferior to OX-CR in terms of pain reduction after 4 weeks of treatment and had a similar safety profile. Studies in larger populations of Korean patients with cancer-related pain are needed to further investigate the effectiveness of OXN-CR for long-term pain control and constipation alleviation. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01313780, registered March 8, 2011.

Keywords: Constipation; Naloxone; Oxycodone; Quality of life; Safety.

Figures

Fig. 1

Flowchart of patients with cancer-related pain who were randomized to receive either controlled-release oxycodone/naloxone (OXN-CR) or controlled-release oxycodone (OX-CR). aThe patient was found to have significant structural/functional abnormalities of the gastrointestinal tract which was deemed to be not appropriate for oral medicine administration

Fig. 2

Reduction in pain scores from baseline to week 4 in the OXN-CR and OX-CR groups (full analysis set, FAS). The error bars represent standard deviation (SD). NRS numeric rating scale

Fig. 3

Patient-reported change in bowel habits from baseline to week 4 in OXN-CR-treated patients and OX-CR-treated patients (FAS). aPatients with available data at week 4