Context: Tramadol is conditionally recommended for cancer pain and is a less expensive drug compared to strong opioids. Thus, tramadol may help reduce health care costs.
Objectives: To investigate factors that predict the clinical efficacy of tramadol for cancer pain.
Methods: A retrospective study using electronic medical records was conducted on patients who received tramadol for cancer pain from January 2016 to December 2020. Patients who continued tramadol for >28 days or discontinued tramadol before 28 days owing to pain improvement were considered as clinical efficacy cases.
Results: We identified 183 eligible patients; 104 cases had clinical efficacy. The median starting tramadol daily dose was 100 mg, and the median administration duration was 22 days. Overall, 169 patients (92.3%) discontinued tramadol; pain improvement was the most common reason (34.9%). Age (>70 years), a performance status of 0-1, and an albumin-bilirubin grade of 1 were independent predictors for the clinical efficacy of tramadol. Patients with multiple predictors had significantly higher achievement rates than those without.
Conclusion: Tramadol could have greater clinical efficacy for cancer pain in patients who are elderly, have good performance status, and have good liver function.
Keywords: age; albumin-bilirubin grade; cancer pain; performance status; predictor; tramadol.