Research in focus: Mathieos Belayneh

Name:

Mathieos Belayneh

Title:

Palliative Medicine Physician

Faculty/Department/Unit:

Medicine/Medicine/Division of Palliative Care

Location:

Vancouver

Year I started working at UBC:

2020

Provide an overview of your research in 75 words or less:

Chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a distressing complication affecting up to 70% of cancer patients, causes chronic neuropathic pain and debilitation. The only recommended drug called duloxetine is only modestly effective. Methadone demonstrates superior efficacy in treating neuropathic pain compared to other opioids. Moreover, patients seem to build less tolerance to methadone than other opioids. This study is a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of methadone compared to duloxetine to treat painful CIPN.

What first motivated you (or motivates you) to conduct your research?

I became particularly interested in CIPN from working in BC Cancer Pain and Symptom/Palliative Care (PSMPC) treating patients with this disorder. They often suffer from severe pain and disability which is refractory to duloxetine (the only drug recommended by international guidelines). However, PSMPC conducted retrospective chart review revealing the significant efficacy of methadone to treat CIPN. This study will establish the effect of a promising drug for a debilitating disorder with otherwise few treatment options.

What do you hope will change as a result of this research?

The hope is this explanatory clinical trial directly informs an effective treatment for CIPN. If the result is positive, it could be practice-changing and provide relief to millions of cancer patients worldwide who otherwise have few treatment options available.

Are there any research collaborators you'd like to acknowledge and why?

I'd like to acknowledge Dr. Pippa Hawley. She is a co-investigator for this project and is an amazing research mentor! She has offered the necessary support, resources, and guidance to advance this project to its current stage.

Describe any interesting research milestones you are approaching

We have applied for funding to conduct the study in December 2023 through the BC Cancer Clinician Researcher Start Up 2024 competition. On February 2024, they were notified that they were successfully awarded with $266,378 of funding. As a result, the study is expected to begin enrolling participants in fall 2024.