Updates in Cancer Pain Management

Background: Pain is a common symptom in cancer patients and it is the most disturbing complications affecting the quality of life markedly. The incidence of pain depends on the type and stage of the cancer. There are many barriers that prevent treatment of cancer pain as fear of addiction, side effects and fear of distracting physicians from treating the cancer. The objective of this review is to illustrate different types, effects and various tools of the cancer pain control as well as a how to choose the ideal technique suitable for your pain.

Conclusion: Cancer pain is multifactorial with complicated Pathophysiology, but early diagnosis, careful history and good assessment lead to ideal selection of treatment plane either medications or interventions according to WHO step ladder. interventional therapies for cancer pain include; cordotomy, myelotomy, sympathectomy, peripheral neurectomy, dorsal rhizotomy and ganglionectomy, dorsal root entry zone lesioning, and others. And, early interventional is favorable due to many reasons; avoiding central pain, general condition of patients is still good and cancer itself not metastatic everywhere.

Keywords: Cancer pain, WHO step ladder, Postoperative pain, VAS scale, Opioids.