Chemometric analysis of biochemical laboratory data of oncology patients after morphine treatment

Abstract

Relationships among serum levels of morphine (M), morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G) and morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) as well as the results of several standard biochemical tests were investigated in oncology patients, to whom morphine was administered. The level of the serum concentrations of M, M3G and M6G, determined by a new HPLC method, plays an important role in pain resistance: particularly the M3G/M6G ratio is extraordinarily important. The magnitude of this ratio is a complex function of the patient's gender, type of the morphine drug and tumor location. Studies of relations between the standard biochemical tests and the M, M3G, and M6G concentrations, and the M3G/M6G ratio, revealed a strong connection between M3G/M6G and the clearance of creatinine.