Ma K, Jin Y, Wang L, et al. - Given the utility of hydromorphone as an alternative to morphine for intrathecal drug delivery system to treat refractory cancer pain, researchers sought for clinical evidence supporting this. They enrolled a total of 233 patients from 12 different pain management centers across China; of these, 121 and 112 were in the intrathecal hydromorphone (ITHM) and intrathecal morphine (ITMO) groups, respectively. The clinical success rate, which was defined as the ratio of patients achieving ≥ 50% pain relief, was achieved in 85 and 79 of the 121 ITHM patients (70.2%) and 112 ITMO patients (70.5%), respectively. Per findings, ITHM was noninferior to ITMO in providing pain relief in refractory cancer pain, however, at different doses; the doses of morphine tended to rise, whereas those of hydromorphone reduced over time. Hydromorphone provide benefits over morphine in controlling BTP.