Cancer Patient Perspectives on the Opioid Treatment Agreement: Tool for Safety or Symbol of Distrust?

Thursday, November 13, 2025

8:15 AM - 8:30 AM CT

Location: Lone Star Salon D-E

Introduction:

Many cancer patients are prescribed opioids, yet opioid treatment agreements (OTAs) are not routinely used in cancer pain care, despite being standard in chronic non-cancer pain management. As cancer survival rates improve, a growing number of patients experience persistent cancer- and non-cancer-related pain. With long-term opioid use prevalent in this population, we hypothesize that OTAs are acceptable to cancer patients with chronic pain and could be incorporated as part routine care for survivors on opioids.

Submitting Author(s)

AY

Alice Ye, MD

Fellow
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, United States

Co-Author(s)

LK

Lakshmi Koyyalagunta, MD

Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States
SY

Sriram Yennu, MD, MS

Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States
EB

Eduardo Bruera, MD

Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States
LW

Lori Williams, PhD, APRN

Associate Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States
SJ

Saba Javed, MD

Associate Professor
Department of Pain Medicine, Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and Pain Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas, United States
Ozondu Osuagwu, MD

Assistant Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States
LF

Lei Feng, MS

Biostatistician
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States