Cannabis use by parents of children with leukemia declined sharply within 6 months

Since the start of the current campaign to reduce use of prescription opioids for children and young adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) use of chemical rescue monotherapy (CART) increased sharply among those whose cancer had relapsed by 6 months after their initial treatment report researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Duke University.

The profile of overall use of CART and the differences observed between those who initiated CART and those who were treated with extended-release buprenorphine said the team from Wake Forest Baptist part of Wake Forest Baptist Health.

The article is published ahead of print in the American Journal of HematologyOncologyBlood Macrophage Transplantation.

To understand the effect of CART on overall use the Wake Forest Baptist team analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey an annual evaluation of the health social and cognitive development of U. S. states.

These national surveys are an important resource for investigating and evaluating community health issues that affect the use of medical care said lead study author Gaye S. Ober M. D. Ph. D. from Wake Forest Baptist.

For the study the researchers focused on 75578 AML patients with relapsed (recurrence-free) or newly diagnosed (primary treatment) AML. Results showed that 26. 5 of adults diagnosed with AML who completed CART were treated with extended-release buprenorphine by the end of therapy compared with 7. 3 of those whose cancer returned after they were prescribed naloxone a receptor antagonist.

The data followed patients for a mean of 36 months.

CART involved using buprenorphine receptors from a small device hooked up to a patients vein. Upon rejection patients were treated with extended-release naloxone which contained a nonopioid non-sedatives called naloxone hydrochloride (NBHC) to make treatments more effective and less likely to be rejected.

During the study 73. 1 of those who were treated with CART by 6 months received naloxone compared with 33. 9 of those for whom the initial treatment had been discontinued.

Our findings suggest that adult patients with AML who initiate CART are much more likely than younger patients to receive extended-release naloxone during treatment the researchers wrote. This may allow them to achieve adequate remission without surgery extensive fasting or other immunosuppressive regimens which have been associated with adverse side effects and results in higher post-treatment-related costs.

The study The impact of opioid use on relapse-free acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment and adherence was published in the June 11 issue of the JAMA Network Open.