ABSTRACT
Opioid use for cancer pain is well established in medical literature. Recommended by the european guidelines (European Society for Medical Oncology – ESMO, European Association for Palliative Care – EAPC), the World Health Organization (WHO) analgesic ladder remains the gold standard in cancer pain management. Besides increasing use of chronic opioid therapy for non cancer pain during the past few years, controversies over opioid efficacy and safety and the absence of strong evidence constitute an important obstacle in establishing opioid medication as a standard universal approach for chronic non cancer pain therapy.
