title: The mu opioid receptor: A new target for cancer therapy?
abstract: Mu opioids are among the most widely used drugs for patients with cancer with both acute and chronic pain as well as in the perioperative period. Several retrospective studies have suggested that opioid use might promote tumor progression and as a result negatively impact survival in patients with advanced cancer; however, in the absence of appropriate prospective validation, any changes in recommendations for opioid use are not warranted. In this review, the authors present preclinical and clinical data that support their hypothesis that the mu opioid receptor is a potential target for cancer therapy because of its plausible role in tumor progression. The authors also propose the hypothesis that peripheral opioid antagonists such as methylnaltrexone, which reverses the peripheral effects of mu opioids but maintains centrally mediated analgesia and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation, can be used to target the mu opioid receptor.
authors.affiliation: Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Department of Medicine, Pritzker School of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.|Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Patrick A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Singleton
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Medicine, Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.|Clinical Translational Research Center, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Daniel D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Karp
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Medicine, Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Johnique T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Atkins
authors.affiliation: Division of Cancer Medicine, Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Janku
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; C032257:methylnaltrexone; D009271:Naltrexone
keywords: cancer progression; methylnaltrexone; mu opioid receptor; opioids