Study of Efficacy and Safety of Gabapentin to Reduce the Need for Strong Opioid Use in Head and Neck Cancer Patients.

A multi-centre, double-blind, randomized-controlled trial to study the efficacy and safety of gabapentin to reduce the need for strong opioid use in the treatment of radiation-induced pain in head and neck cancer (HNCA) patients undergoing a curative 7-week radio(chemo)therapy course with curative intent. The aim of this study is to establish if addition of gabapentin is more effective in reducing the need to start (or dosage-increase) a strong opioid for HNCA pain than a matching placebo additional to standard pain management (WHO-ladder step 2 and 3).