Open Access

Incidence of carnitine deficiency in patients with cancer pain: A pilot study

  • Authors:
    • Kiyohiro Sakai
    • Hiromichi Matsuoka
    • Yoichi Ohtake
    • Chihiro Makimura
    • Hiroaki Izumi
    • Yoshihiko Fujita
    • Masatomo Otsuka
    • Junji Tsurutani
    • Kazuto Nishio
    • Kazuhiko Nakagawa
    • Atsuko Koyama
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: February 7, 2017     https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2017.1159
  • Pages: 331-333
  • Copyright: © Sakai et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Carnitine deficiency is reportedly associated with increased pain sensation in diabetes mellitus and fibromyalgia, but the association between serum carnitine concentration and cancer pain has not been fully elucidated. We investigated the incidence of carnitine deficiency in patients with cancer pain, and examined the effect of the patients' demographic and clinical characteristics on pain intensity and carnitine deficiency. The serum carnitine concentration was measured in 50 patients with cancer pain receiving non‑steroidal anti‑inflammatory drugs, but not opioids. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the association of carnitine concentration, pain intensity, age and gender with hemoglobin and C‑reactive protein (CRP) concentrations. Carnitine deficiency was detected in 9 of the patients (18.0%) and found to be significantly correlated with an elevated CRP concentration (P=0.039). In conclusion, although there does not appear to be an association between carnitine deficiency and cancer pain, it may be affected by inflammation or infection.
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March-2017
Volume 6 Issue 3

Print ISSN: 2049-9450
Online ISSN:2049-9469

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Spandidos Publications style
Sakai K, Matsuoka H, Ohtake Y, Makimura C, Izumi H, Fujita Y, Otsuka M, Tsurutani J, Nishio K, Nakagawa K, Nakagawa K, et al: Incidence of carnitine deficiency in patients with cancer pain: A pilot study. Mol Clin Oncol 6: 331-333, 2017
APA
Sakai, K., Matsuoka, H., Ohtake, Y., Makimura, C., Izumi, H., Fujita, Y. ... Koyama, A. (2017). Incidence of carnitine deficiency in patients with cancer pain: A pilot study. Molecular and Clinical Oncology, 6, 331-333. https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2017.1159
MLA
Sakai, K., Matsuoka, H., Ohtake, Y., Makimura, C., Izumi, H., Fujita, Y., Otsuka, M., Tsurutani, J., Nishio, K., Nakagawa, K., Koyama, A."Incidence of carnitine deficiency in patients with cancer pain: A pilot study". Molecular and Clinical Oncology 6.3 (2017): 331-333.
Chicago
Sakai, K., Matsuoka, H., Ohtake, Y., Makimura, C., Izumi, H., Fujita, Y., Otsuka, M., Tsurutani, J., Nishio, K., Nakagawa, K., Koyama, A."Incidence of carnitine deficiency in patients with cancer pain: A pilot study". Molecular and Clinical Oncology 6, no. 3 (2017): 331-333. https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2017.1159