Patient with metastatic bowel cancer is taking Codeine 30 mg q4h without adequate analgesia. What is the most appropriate therapy?

Related MCQs

• A 72-year-old man is evaluated because of constipation, abdominal pain, and distention that have worsened over the past week. Two years ago, he was diagnosed with stage III rectal cancer (primary tumor and renal involvement) and underwent low anterior resection. Chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin followed, and pelvic radiation was given with concurrent infusion of 5-fluorouracil. He has been having regular bowel movements, and results of his most recent colonoscopy (1 year ago) were unremarkable. On physical examination, his pulse rate is 100/min. He has orthostatic hypotension, a slightly distended abdomen with hyperactive bowel sounds, and some guarding to deep palpation in the left lower quadrant. Plain radiograph of the abdomen shows distended loops of small bowel, with no stool in the distal colon or rectum. The patient is hospitalized for bowel rest and intravenous hydration. What is the next step in this patient‟s management?
• A 58-year-old postmenopausal woman has been taking hormone replacement therapy with combined estrogen and progestin for the past 4 years because she was told it would decrease her risk for heart disease. Her father died at age 65 years of heart disease, and she is concerned that she is also at risk. Recently, her sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mother died of breast cancer. Three years ago, the patient had a breast biopsy that showed atypical hyperplasia. She has not had a hysterectomy. The patient is considering chemoprevention for breast cancer, but is nonetheless concerned about heart disease. Her calculated risk of breast cancer is 10.4% over the next 5 years. Which of the following options is reasonable to consider for this patient?
• A 61-year-old man with a 120-pack-year smoking history is evaluated for a persistent and worsening cough and found to have a 3-cm mass in the right upper lobe on chest radiography. CT-directed needle biopsy is positive for squamous cell carcinoma. CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis, bone scan, and MRI of the head are negative for metastatic disease. Positron emission tomography scan shows uptake only in the right upper lobe mass, and pulmonary function tests indicate that the patient has adequate pulmonary reserve to undergo resection. The patient undergoes a right upper lobectomy. All margins are clear, and all peribronchial lymph nodes are negative for tumor within the resected specimen. What is the most reasonable adjuvant therapy for this patient?
• A 50-year-old menstruating woman has a 1 .5-cm moderately differentiated breast cancer. The lesion is completely excised, and the margins of the excision are negative. Axillary node sampling shows that she has three positive nodes. The tumor is negative for estrogen and progesterone receptors and is highly positive for HER2. She is otherwise healthy. Her mother had breast cancer at 62 years and was treated by mastectomy; she is alive and healthy at the age of 80 years. The patients sister had breast cancer at 54 years and was treated by breast conservation therapy; 4 years later she died of a recurrence of breast cancer. The patient has seen two different surgeons with opposing viewpoints regarding the best treatment, and she has been reading extensively on the Internet and has become confused about her options. Which of the following represents the best treatment for this patient?
• A 64-year-old woman has the following family history: One sister, who was a smoker, had lung cancer at the age of 63 years; another sister had breast cancer at the age of 70 years. Her father had prostate cancer at 82 years of age, and her mother had breast cancer at age 71 years. She has three other sisters, now aged 58, 60, and 65 years who have no history of cancer. She has two daughters and two sons between the ages of 25 and 39 years, who have no history of cancer. Her ancestry is European in general, and she is not of known Ashkenazi Jewish descent. She is concerned that “cancer runs in the family” and would like to have one of those “gene tests” she has read about. What is the best advice to give her and her family?
• A 47-year-old woman is recovering from surgery for stage III ovarian cancer (spread to the peritoneal cavity but without parenchymal liver involvement). Not all of the visible cancer could be resected; the largest residual tumor was 3 cm in diameter. Her performance status is excellent. She is interested in pursuing aggressive therapy and wishes to be treated as soon as possible in her local community. The proposed systemic therapy will involve cisplatin or carboplatin and paclitaxel. What further treatment is appropriate for this patient?
• A 66-year-old black woman diagnosed with stage III colon cancer underwent definitive resection of the primary tumor 3 years ago. After surgery, she received adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin. Approximately 20 months later, she developed metastatic disease in the liver (five lesions in right and left lobe) and lungs (one lesion in the right and left lobe). She was treated with irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin, and had a partial response to therapy. One month ago, disease progression was documented on restaging CT scans. The patient‟s laboratory studies show relatively normal organ function. She has fatigue, decreased appetite, and has noticed a 2.3-kg (5-Ib) weight loss over the past 3 months. She has stopped participating in weekend bike trips with a cycling club, but remains involved in church and family activities and states that she wants to be as aggressive as possible in fighting the cancer. What is the most reasonable recommendation for this patie
• A 76-year-old man was diagnosed with prostate cancer 8 years ago. At that time he had a serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 12 ng/mL, a Gleason score of 6, and a clinical stage of T2b (organ-confined on digital rectal examination but involving both lobes of the prostate gland). He was treated with external-beam radiation therapy, and his PSA level dropped to a low of 1.4 ng/mL. Four years later, his PSA level began to rise and now is 14.1 ng/mL. A recent bone scan and CT scans revealed no metastatic disease. His urologist has suggested initiating a course of leuprolide. Which of the following is a potential side effect of leuprolide that the patient should be informed about before commencing therapy?
• A 78-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer involving the bones and soft tissues who has been taking hormone replacement therapy is evaluated in the emergency department because of lethargy and weakness, nausea, thirst, and dizziness. She is orthostatic and clinically dehydrated. She has a history of congestive heart failure that has been controlled with medications. Laboratory studies: Blood urea nitrogen 42 mg/dL Total serum calcium 11 .4 mg/dL Serum creatinine 1.6 mg/dL Serum albumin 3.0 g/dL What is the most appropriate initial treatment?
• A 40-year-old woman has a routine gynecologic examination. At the age of 32 years, she gave birth to twins after receiving fertility drugs. She has just seen a television program on ovarian cancer, and is concerned because previous use of fertility drugs and a family history of ovarian cancer were mentioned as possible risk factors. Her mother developed endometrial cancer at 56 years, and a paternal uncle was diagnosed with a type of lymphoma at 60 years. She has one older sister with hypertension and one younger brother who is healthy. Results of her pelvic examination are unremarkable, but she asks what additional tests she should have to look for ovarian cancer in the early stages that cannot be detected by physical examination. What is the most appropriate management for this patient?