{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,15]],"date-time":"2025-08-15T00:05:26Z","timestamp":1755216326030,"version":"3.43.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"Termedia Sp. z.o.o.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Arch Med Sci"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>The aim of the study was to conduct a meta-analysis evaluating the efficacy of four antidepressants combined with commonly used opioid analgesics for the treatment of cancer-related neuropathic pain.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Material and methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A comprehensive search of Chinese and English databases was performed to identify relevant studies investigating the combination of duloxetine, venlafaxine, amitriptyline, or fluoxetine with opioid analgesics in managing cancer-related neuropathic pain.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Seventeen studies published between 2005 and 2024, involving 1,636 patients, were included. Among them, ten were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and seven were non-RCTs. Six studies reported opioid consumption, and meta-analysis of continuous data showed significantly lower opioid use in the treatment group compared to controls (OR = \u20132.99, 95% CI: \u20134.51 to \u20131.48, Z = \u20133.86, p &lt; 0.01). Eleven studies assessed pain scores, with pooled results indicating significantly greater pain reduction in the treatment group (OR = \u20131.03, 95% CI: \u20131.44 to \u20130.62, Z = \u20134.94, p &lt; 0.01). Eight studies reported depression scores, revealing significantly lower depression levels in the treatment group (OR = \u20132.72, 95% CI: \u20133.74 to \u20131.69, Z = \u20135.19, p &lt; 0.01). Eight studies reported quality of life, and a meta-analysis of continuous variables showed no significant difference in the quality of life scores between the two groups (OR = \u20131.01, 95% CI: \u20132.30 to 0.28, Z = \u20131.54, p = 0.12). Eight studies reported treatment efficacy, and a meta-analysis of binary variables revealed that the treatment group had significantly higher efficacy than the control group (OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.29 to 1.15, Z = 3.27, p &lt; 0.01). Five studies reported adverse reactions, with no significant difference observed between groups (OR = 0.14, 95% CI: \u20130.41 to 0.68, Z = 0.49, p = 0.62). Funnel plot analysis suggested publication bias in pain score outcomes, potentially due to variability in pain assessment methods and timing.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title><jats:p>Combining duloxetine, venlafaxine, amitriptyline, or fluoxetine with commonly used opioid analgesics effectively alleviates cancer-related neuropathic pain with minimal adverse effects. This therapeutic approach offers flexible application in clinical practice.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.5114\/aoms\/208191","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,4]],"date-time":"2025-08-04T08:14:30Z","timestamp":1754295270000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A meta-analysis of the efficacy of four antidepressants combined with common opioid analgesics in the treatment of cancer-related neuropathic pain"],"prefix":"10.5114","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-4931-118X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yi","family":"Yi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pain, Hunan Provincial People\u2019s Hospital (The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University), Changsha, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"3061","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref-1488425","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Brozovi\u0107 G, Lesar N, Janev D, Bo\u0161njak T, Muhaxhiri B. 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