Actiq, manufactured by Anesta Corp., contains fentanyl citrate, an opioid narcotic more powerful than morphine, and comes in the form of a white lozenge. The medicine is on a stick and dissolves in the mouth within 15 minutes.

The major advantage of the drug is the new delivery system, according to Steve Shoemaker, MD, vice president of medical communications at Anesta. Once the lozenge is placed in the mouth, the drug is rapidly absorbed through the mucous membrane that lines the mouth. It then travels quickly to the brain. This is the first time immediate pain relief has been available that patients can administer to themselves at home.

A series of clinical trials was conducted under the supervision of cancer pain experts at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. Patients reported that by using Actiq, they were able to return to work, to go on vacation, and resume normal activities.

Actiq should not be a patient's first choice in pain medication. According to Dr. Shoemaker, Actiq is designed only for the management of breakthrough cancer pain in patients who are already receiving opioid (narcotic) therapy for their underlying persistent pain. The most common side effects are sleepiness, dizziness, nausea, and constipation.

Actiq is for cancer patients only, and could be fatal to children and to adults not already taking opioid therapy. Both patients and health care professionals need to take special precautions to ensure children have no access to this medication. Because it looks similar to a sucker, Anesta provides child-resistant packaging, and also offers patients free locks to put on medicine cabinets, as well as a child-resistant fanny pack.

Link: Cephalon

Visit the "Living With Cancer" section of our Guide for Patients and Families for further information on Breakthrough Cancer Pain.