Is opioid over-regulation hurting cancer patients?

摘要

Few dispute the role of opioids in the treatment of pain in patients with advanced cancer. However, while there has been much energy devoted to improving cancer pain management, most of the world's population still lack access to appropriate medications for cancer pain relief. In 2006, 17% of the world's population, primarily those in some industrialized countries, consumed 80% of the world's opioids [i]. The WHO's Access to Controlled Medicines Program documented that 5.5 billion people (83% of the world's population) live in countries with low to nonexistent access to opioids.