PainRelief.com Interview with:
Joshua Kra, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Rutgers NJMS
Division of Hematology/Oncology
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey at University Hospital

PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: We aimed to characterize pain management practices by medical oncologists to assess whether CDC guidelines from 2017 for nononcologic settings changed prescribing patterns for oncologists.

PainRelief.com: What are the main findings?

Response: There was a significant decrease in opioid prescriptions from medical oncologists starting in 2017, which coincided with the recognition of the opioid crisis as a national public health emergency and the publication of CDC guidelines for opiate prescribing in non-cancer settings. This would suggest these factors contributed to how oncologists changed their management of opioid prescriptions for cancer patients.