210 Background: The U.S. is in the throes of two concurrent epidemics: too many people die from opioid-related fatalities, but too many people continue to suffer in pain. In certain regions this dilemma is particularly pronounced. For example, Southwest (SW) Virginia is a rural area with disproportionately high cancer mortality rates and high rates of opioid fatalities. Little is known about how to most effectively and safely manage pain in a region where there exists both a high cancer burden and significant opioid misuse. Purpose: Describe prescription opioid medication (POM) use for patients with cancer in SW Virginia and potential harms. Methods: This is a longitudinal, exploratory, secondary data analysis using the Virginia All Payers Claims Database (APCD), which includes paid medical and pharmacy claims data on 4 million individuals in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Patients with a diagnosis of cancer who lived in far, rural SW Virginia between 2011–2015 were included. Outpatient prescription data were linked to hospitalization admission claims data to explore potential opioid-related harms. Analysis was conducted at the patient, prescription and prescriber level (SAS 9.4, STATA 13.1) to identify predictors of POM use and opioid-related substance use admissions. Results: Within the APCD, POMs represent 7.23% of all medications prescribed for patients with cancer, with hydrocodone- and oxycodone-combinations, oxycodone, fentanyl transdermal patch and morphine sulfate being the most common. Over 50% of patients were prescribed a POM at least once during the study period. Multi-level logistic regressions suggest age, payer source, cancer type, gender, prescriber type and specialty were all significant (p < .001) predictors of being prescribed POMs. Preliminary analyses of hospitalized cancer patients found no association between POM use and opioid-related substance use hospitalization. Conclusions: A clearer view of geographic patterns and predictors of both POM use and potential harms can inform targeted clinical interventions and policy initiatives that achieve a balanced approach to POMs – ensuring access for patients in need, while reducing risk.

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Objectives Describe the importance of illness understanding and prognostic awareness in patients with metastatic GI cancers receiving dPEG for MBO. Describe elements of end of life care in patients with metastatic GI cancers receiving dPEG for MBO.