Methadone for cancer: just a straw?

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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So far, methadone has been known to most people primarily as an aid to getting out of drug addiction. It is also a potent pain reliever. According to a report by the ARD magazine Plusminus from April this year, the drug is now also causing a stir as a cancer cure, at least for patients with brain tumors. But can methadone actually help fight cancer? The German Society for Hematology and Medical Oncology e. V. (DGHO) followed up.

There was previously evidence that methadone, in combination with chemotherapy drugs, could help against cancer. Claudia Friesen from Ulm University treated cancer cells of various tumors with a chemotherapeutic plus methadone - which then died off completely. The combination therapy also had an effect in animal experiments. The scientist then looked for patients who had received methadone as part of their treatment in addition to chemotherapy.

Disappeared tumors

She found 27 people with brain tumors who were better off taking methadone - up to and including the complete disappearance of the tumor. Plusminus processed this in a report - and gave hope to many sick people. But even Friesen is cautious when it comes to the potential of methadone in cancer therapy.

Individual cases are not proof

Because the scientist is aware that she has only tracked down isolated cases so far. And there is no evidence that it was actually the methadone that made the improvement. Because something like this happens again and again without medication - the spontaneous healing of cancer: tumors that suddenly disappear again, such cases have been known from the beginning of cancer healing science.

There is a gold standard in science for reliable proof of effectiveness: the randomized double-blind study. Two groups of patients. Two therapies. Nobody knows who is receiving which drug or who is receiving a dummy drug, i.e. a placebo. Not the doctor, not the patient. This is the only way to calculate the placebo effect, which is based on the self-healing potential of humans, from the effect.

Sobering survey

The German Society for Hematology and Medical Oncology e. V. (DGHO) has now carried out an online survey among its members on the subject of methadone. The result is sobering. Of the 473 oncologists surveyed, only two percent reported disease courses in which a direct or additional effect of methadone on the tumor seemed plausible. In contrast, 20 percent of those questioned said they had observed unexpected or pronounced side effects in connection with the use of methadone.

At the same time, 83 percent of the doctors surveyed stated that they had been asked about methadone therapy by patients or their relatives. There is great hope, but the likelihood that the combined approach will help is rather low.

Just a straw for the desperate?

"Desperate patients and their relatives reach for methadone as a straw," says Prof. Carsten Bokemeyer, Executive Chairman of the DGHO. The survey shows that the patients very often bring the topic with them to the consultation hours. “With methadone therapy, they associate hopes that cannot be justified by the current level of evidence and the practical experience of oncologists. Most of them need good oncological care, support and discussions, not a methadone prescription.

Further studies needed

For final clarification, further scientific studies would be necessary to prove or invalidate that methadone can help cancer patients and, if so, in which cases. The problem that the ARD report also shows: Studies are extremely expensive. Methadone, on the other hand, is comparatively cheap. So there is no money to be made by proving its effectiveness against cancer. That sounds cynical, but it's the reality. Other donors would have to step in here. There is currently no one in sight.

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