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Morphine blocks tumour growth
Current research suggests that taking morphine can block new blood vessel and tumour growth.
Morphine is currently the gold standard of analgesics used to relieve severe pain and suffering. Angiogenesis, or new blood vessel growth, is critical for tumour progression from dormant to malignant. Morphine is commonly used to treat cancer pain, but the effects of morphine use on new blood vessel and tumour growth remain controversial.
Using a clinically relevant morphine dose in a mouse model of Lewis lung carcinoma, researchers led by Dr. Sabita Roy of the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, MN examined the effect of morphine use on new blood vessel growth in tumours. They found that chronic morphine use decreased levels of tumour angiogenesis in a manner dependent on the opioid receptor. This effect was mediated by suppression of signalling induced by low oxygen concentrations, leading to a reduction in the levels of pro-angiogenic factors. Therefore, morphine may not only serve as an analgesic for cancer patients, but may also inhibit tumour angiogenesis and growth.
Writing in the August 2010 issue of the American Journal of Pathology, the researchers conclude that morphine is a potential inhibitor of tumour growth, through the suppression of tumour cell-induced angiogenesis and hypoxia-induced p38 MAPK activation of HIF-1. In addition to its analgesic potential, morphine can be exploited for its anti-angiogenic potential in cancer pain management; these findings support the use of morphine for cancer pain management.
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