Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, The University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Anesthesiology and Surgical Oncology Research Group, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Adv Biol (Weinh). 2022 Sep;6(9):e2200020. doi: 10.1002/adbi.202200020. Epub 2022 May 9.
Cancer is a significant public health problem worldwide. While there has been a steady decrease in the cancer death rate over the last two decades, the number of survivors has increased and, thus, cancer-related sequela. Pain affects the life of patients with cancer and survivors. Prescription opioids continue as the analgesic of choice to treat moderate-to-severe cancer-related pain. There has been controversy on whether opioids impact cancer progression by acting on cancer cells or the tumor microenvironment. The μ-opioid receptor is the site of action of prescription opioids. This receptor can participate in an important mechanism of cancer spread, such as perineural invasion. In this review, current evidence on the role of the μ-opioid receptor in cancer growth is summarized and preliminary evidence about its effect on the cross-talk between sensory neurons and malignant cells is provided.
癌症是一个全球性的重大公共卫生问题。尽管在过去的二十年中，癌症死亡率一直在稳步下降，但幸存者的数量却在增加，因此与癌症相关的后遗症也在增加。疼痛影响癌症患者和幸存者的生活。阿片类药物一直是治疗中重度癌症相关疼痛的首选镇痛药。关于阿片类药物是否通过作用于癌细胞或肿瘤微环境来影响癌症进展一直存在争议。μ-阿片受体是处方阿片类药物的作用部位。该受体可以参与癌症扩散的重要机制，如神经周围浸润。在这篇综述中，总结了μ-阿片受体在癌症生长中的作用的现有证据，并提供了关于其对感觉神经元和恶性细胞之间串扰影响的初步证据。
