A prospective double-blind, randomised, phase 3 study of the efficacy of ketamine for cancer treatment-related oral and pharyngeal mucositis pain

Pain from oral and pharyngeal mucositis is often distressing and can be severe and opioid refractory. Currently, there is a lack of guidance for analgesic agents due to limited evidence. This thesis evaluates subcutaneous ketamine’s efficacy compared to active placebo in managing cancer treatment-related oral and pharyngeal mucositis. The findings suggest that a low-dose, continuous subcutaneous ketamine infusion is effective in treating opioid-refractory moderate to severe oral and pharyngeal mucositis pain from cancer treatment.