# Oxycodone

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/oxycodone/  
OnCo record `oxycodone` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Oxycodone is a strong painkiller used for cancer pain, often when morphine does not suit, for example with kidney problems or when the medicine has to be given under the skin.

## Summary

The OxyContin label covers severe and persistent pain that needs an opioid and cannot be adequately treated with alternatives, in adults and some opioid-tolerant children, with boxed warnings on addiction, abuse and respiratory depression. The Australian cancer pain guideline (2025 update) names oxycodone among the preferred opioids in severe kidney disease, with careful titration, and among the opioids to switch to subcutaneously when the oral route is no longer possible. The reformulated OxyContin NDA in Drugs@FDA was approved on 5 April 2010.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-11-11
- Also known as: oxycodone hydrochloride
- Tags: supportive; generic; supportive-care-gaps-2026-11
- Brand: OxyContin / OxyNorm
- Modality: Strong opioid analgesic
- Mechanism: A full opioid agonist, acting mainly at the mu-opioid receptor.
- Approvals: US 2010: Severe and persistent pain requiring an opioid that cannot be adequately treated with alternatives

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxycodone
- US label (DailyMed): OxyContin: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=bfdfe235-d717-4855-a3c8-a13d26dadede
- Lovell et al., Update of the Australian guideline for the management of cancer pain in adults (Asia Pac J Clin Oncol 2026): https://doi.org/10.1111/ajco.70047

## Connected records

- drugs: [Morphine](https://onco.cc/drugs/morphine/), [Naloxone](https://onco.cc/drugs/naloxone/)
- technologies: [Cancer pain management](https://onco.cc/technologies/pain-management/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/oxycodone.json