Women who receive mastectomy and reconstructive surgery as part of breast cancer treatment may face the risk of developing persistent use of opioids and sedative-hypnotic drugs, according to data presented during General Session 3 at SABCS 20 on Thursday, Dec. 10.
“It has become clear that short-term exposure to opioids for any reason can lead to long-term dependence, given the highly addictive potential of these agents,” explained the study’s lead author, Jacob Cogan, MD, a fellow in hematology/oncology at New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. “Many patients receive this initial exposure around the time of surgery, and patients with cancer are at particularly high risk of becoming dependent on opioids post-operatively.”