Opioids, Symptom Management and Palliation Research Group

The group was formally established in 2002 thanks to a research grant from Norwegian Research Council (NFR) (2001-2003). The group consist of core personnel in permanent positions at The Faculty of Medicine, NTNU and personnel supported by the above NFR grants and other grants including NFR. The research groups comprise a broad spectrum of competence within clinical medicine, molecular biology, pharmacology and psychiatry/social sciences, as well as competent persons founding a good infrastructure for the research. The group has conducted original research with opioid pharmacology and pharmacogenetics as well as subjective symptom assessment and control of symptoms. Clinical trials in palliative care and follow-up of cancer survivors have been a bas ic approach together with establishment of biobanks. We will now expand into non-malignant pain (which include post cancer morbidity), establish more specific (to understand pain mechanisms) or larger biobank samples, and also expand the laboratory acti vities. We have engaged our activity to also involve the planned, large population sutdy HUNT-3 with its biobank for pain research.