Efficacy of low-dose methadone as an antitussive for patients with malignancy. A pilot study.

The primary purpose of this trial is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of methadone for the treatment of chronic cough in cancer patients in palliative care. Who is it for? You may be eligible to participate in this trial if you are aged 18 or over, suffer from chronic cough following diagnosis of cancer, and are currently in palliative care. Study details Participants enrolled in this trial will receive 3 days treatment with methadone and 3 days treatment with a placebo (sham) treatment with a no treatment day in between (total of 7 days).. The order in which these are given is randomly allocated (by chance). Each treatment period involves taking two tablets per day, and there will be a break period of 1 day between each of the two treatments. Participants will be asked to complete a number of questionnaires relating to the severity of their cough, and provide a blood sample at the end of each 3 day treatment period. It is hoped that this trial will provide information on whether methadone is a safe and effective treatment for cough in cancer patients, which may be used to inform a larger clinical trial in the future.