Antidepressants in the management of cancer pain.
Most patients who have been diagnosed with cancer will experience pain at some point during the course of their disease. Often, opioid analgesics are not enough to completely alleviate the patient's pain and the selection of appropriate adjunct analgesic agents is critical. This article reviews the mechanisms of action and analgesic effects of several classes of antidepressants to enable the clinician to select the appropriate agent for the patient.
Mays
T A
TA
Cancer Therapy Research Center, Investigational Drug Section, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. tmays@saci.org
D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology
D000928:Antidepressive Agents