Continuous epidural methadone treatment for cancer pain.

Seventy cancer patients suffering from visceral or somatic pain received continuous epidural methadone (EM) analgesia. Initially, 4 mg of 0.1% methadone was given three times daily. If this dose proved ineffective, it was gradually increased to 8 mg four times daily. With this regimen good pain control was obtained in 56 patients (80%). Patients continued the EM therapy for periods up to 140 days, with an average duration of 27 days. Morphine was substituted for methadone in 14 patients (20%). Four of these patients responded well and continued treatment for an average of 18 days. No serious side effects have been observed with EM. With a proper selection of patients and following strict therapy guidelines, epidural methadone is efficacious in treating cancer pain.