What is Instanyl?

Instanyl is a medicine used to treat breakthrough pain in adults with cancer. Breakthrough pain is when a patient experiences additional, sudden pain in spite of ongoing treatment with painkillers.

Is Instanyl safe for patients over 65 years old?

Limited data on pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety are available for the use of Instanyl in patients above 65 years of age. Elderly patients may have a reduced clearance, a prolonged half-life and higher sensitivity to fentanyl than younger patients.

What should I know before starting treatment with Instanyl?

Before starting treatment with Instanyl, the patient’s long-term pain should be well controlled by opioid pain killers and they should have no more than 4 episodes of breakthrough pain a day.

What is the clinical experience with Instanyl in patients with opioid addiction?

The clinical experience with Instanyl in patients with background opioid treatment equivalent to ≥ 500 mg/day morphine or ≥ 200 micrograms/hour transdermal fentanyl is limited. Instanyl in doses above 400 micrograms have not been evaluated in clinical trials. Opioids may influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal or –gonadal axes.