An observational study in Cancer, Palliative Care, Patient Care and Pain Management, sponsored by St. Olavs Hospital. Recruiting at 4 sites in Norway. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-21.
Sponsored by St. Olavs Hospital · Observational
The goal of this study is to find out whether the medication dexmedetomidine can be a safe and effective additional treatment for cancer patients whose pain is not well controlled by standard pain medicines (such as opioids).
The study includes 30 palliative care patients who still have significant pain despite standard pain treatment. All participants will receive dexmedetomidine, and outcomes related to efficacy and safety will be systematically observed.
The overall aim of this study is to investigate whether add-on dexmedetomidine, a selective alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist, is effective and safe in the treatment of refractory cancer pain. The study is designed as a prospective observational study, including 30 palliative cancer patients with uncontrolled cancer pain despite the use of opioids, about to undergo treatment with dexmedetomidine.
Dexmedetomidine is used in intensive care units as a sedative, anxiolytic, and analgesic-sparing drug. It represents a promising treatment option in advanced cancer patients with uncontrolled pain. Off-label use of dexmedetomidine for refractory cancer pain is conducted in Norwegian hospitals. However, the evidence base for the use of dexmedetomidine in this population is limited. Available studies are mostly small and retrospective, with a high risk of bias. To assure patient safety and to establish a better body of evidence, a prospective observational trial on the use of dexmedetomidine in palliative cancer care is needed.
9,610 studies on the registry are indexed under Neoplasms; 2,508 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 30 is below the median of 202 across 1,742 observational studies indexed under Neoplasms.
Browse Neoplasms studies →St. Olavs Hospital is the lead sponsor of 171 studies on the registry; 29 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Palliative cancer patients about to undergo treatment with dexmedetomidine due to uncontrolled cancer pain.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Pain intensity
Change in worst pain intensity past 24 hours (NRS 0-10) on day five.
Time frame: 5 days
Dexmedetomidine dose
Dexmedetomidine dose at start, day 5 and during follow-up.
Time frame: Baseline starting dose, dose day 5, dose alterations during the follow-up period as long at treated with dexmedetomidine. Maximum 6 months.
Adverse events
Adverse events (AE) registrations during the study period.
Time frame: Through study completion, as long as treated with dexmedetomidine Maximum 6 months.
Plan to share: Undecided
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Apr 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Oct 2027, 18 months after the start.
Of 792 non-industry observational studies under Neoplasms, half reached primary completion within 102 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 32 and three quarters within 352. This study's planned 18 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 884 studies reached it within 80 months; a quarter within 32 and three quarters within 318.
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From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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