Trial Information

Effect of Eszopiclone (Lunesta) on Sleep Disturbance and Pain in Cancer

Pain and fatigue are the most common symptom complaints of cancer patients. Although
dramatic improvements have come about in recognizing and treating cancer related pain, less
progress has been made in treating fatigue. Interventions to improve sleep may offer benefit
in terms of pain and fatigue.

One of the less commonly recognized side effects of opiate use is sleep disruption.

Experimentally-induced sleep disruption lowers the threshold for detection of painful
stimuli. Thus, although opiates are obviously helpful for pain, they do so at certain
"costs": they increase next day fatigue, constipation, and have other side effects; they
disrupt sleep which further increases next day fatigue; and finally, by virtue of their
sleep disruptive properties, they lower the threshold for pain stimuli.

Cancer patients requiring chemotherapy commonly require PCA because of oral mucositis. The
objective of this study is to assess whether opiate usage may be reduced and complaints of
fatigue and pain be lessened if patients had better sleep.