# Interactions between cancer chemotherapy and opioid abuse

> **NIH NIH F30** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $20,379

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY:
This new F30 application proposes preclinical research to examine interactions between opioid pharmacology
and chemotherapy-induced neuropathy (CIPN) produced in male and female rats by the commonly
administered antineoplastic drug paclitaxel (PTX). PTX is known to cause a CIPN frequently associated with
behavioral depression that cannot be fully reversed by treatment with mu-opioid receptor (MOR) agonists.
Recently, clinical studies have demonstrated an increased vulnerability to opioid abuse in patients treated with
MOR agonists for chronic cancer pain, finding a high rate of abuse in this cohort. This application will test the
hypothesis that PTX is able to alter MOR functioning in different regions of the central nervous system (CNS)
resulting in depression of behavior, reduced efficacy of MOR agonists to produce analgesia, and increased
sensitivity to abuse-related effects of MOR agonists. To evaluate this hypothesis, this proposal includes novel
studies to investigate a sustained, neuropathy-associated depression of intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) and
of increase in mechanical allodynia in male and female rats. Behavioral studies will investigate the impact of
PTX on the effectiveness of acute and repeated morphine to produce analgesic and abuse-related effects.
Finally, complementary neurochemical studies will examine the effect of PTX on MOR signaling using the
functional assay of agonist-stimulated [35S]GTPγS binding in regions of the CNS associated with pain,
analgesia, and abuse. Completion of this project will provide an improved understanding of the mechanisms of
CIPN-associated depression of behavior and the behavioral and neurochemical implications of PTX-treatment
for MOR functioning and opioid abuse.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9838730
- **Project number:** 5F30CA213956-04
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Luke Legakis
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $20,379
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-01-10 → 2020-05-16

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9838730

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9838730, Interactions between cancer chemotherapy and opioid abuse (5F30CA213956-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9838730. Licensed CC0.

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