Characteristics of study participants
| Characteristic | No of participants (n = 100) |
| Age | |
| Median (range) | 63 years (35–86 years) |
| Gender | |
| Female | 47 |
| Male | 53 |
| Cancer primary location | |
| Breast | 12 |
| Endocrine | 4 |
| Gastrointestinal | 24 |
| Gynaecological | 5 |
| Haematological | 7 |
| Head and neck | 8 |
| Lung | 16 |
| Neurological | 1 |
| Sarcoma | 3 |
| Skin | 1 |
| Urological | 17 |
| Other | 2 |
| ECOG performance status | |
| 0 | 3 |
| 1 | 41 |
| 2 | 33 |
| 3 | 22 |
| 4 | 1 |
| Opioid analgesic at baseline (regular prescription)* | |
| Alfentanil | 1 |
| Buprenorphine | 8 |
| Codeine | 19 |
| Fentanyl | 15 |
| Morphine | 50 |
| Oxycodone | 15 |
| Tramadol | 2 |
| Laxative and related products at baseline (regular prescription)† | |
| None | 28 |
| Osmotic laxatives | 36 |
| Lactulose | 4 |
| Macrogol | 32 |
| Softening laxatives | 30 |
| Docusate sodium | 30 |
| Stimulant laxatives | 42 |
| Bisacodyl | 7 |
| Senna | 35 |
| Peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor antagonists | 5 |
| Naloxegol | 5 |
*Ten patients using two opioid analgesics.
†Twenty-six patients using two products; eight patients using three products.
ECOG, Eastern Co-operative Oncology Group.