Comparison of piroxicam and acetylsalicylic acid for pain in head and neck cancers: a double-blind study

Abstract

This double-blind, placebo controlled study compared the analgesic efficacy of piroxicam with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in patients having continuous pain with advanced head and neck cancers. They were randomly divided into two groups of 25 patients each; 36 of these 50 patients completed the study. After four days of treatment, there was a significant reduction in a modified numerical rating scale (NRS) of pain in the piroxicam group as well as in the ASA group. There was a concomitant increase in the hours of sleep in the piroxicam group and in the ASA group. The decrease in NRS and the increase in sleeping hours was not statistically significantly different between the two groups. Patients receiving piroxicam had a low incidence of upper gastrointestinal side-effects compared with those receiving ASA. The results of this study suggest that piroxicam can be used as first line treatment in place of ASA in patients with head and neck cancers suffering from moderate to severe pain. The advantages are less frequent dosing, better patient compliance and few side-effects.