The prevalence of persistent opioid use among cancer patients following curative intent surgery is not well understood. Falcone and colleagues examined electronic health record data from 3,901 patients who received a prescription for an opioid analgesic related to hysterectomy or large bowel surgery. The authors matched patients with and without a cancer diagnosis based on demographic, clinical, and procedural variables. Cancer diagnosis was associated with increased risk for persistent opioid use after hysterectomy but not large bowel surgery, suggesting that risks vary based on typ. of surgery. Risk and benefits of opioid analgesia should be considered for cancer patients undergoing curative-intent hysterectomy.
The Lund Childhood Cancer Genetic study prospectively includes patients with a pediatric cancer diagnosis, and retrieves cancer diagnoses of relatives, in addition to blood samples of the child and parents. In an earlier study of the cohort, it was observed that pediatric cancer patients from the same family...