title: National survey on prevalence of cancer pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To collect nationwide basic data about cancer related pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty cancer patients in each province were randomly selected to participate in this survey. The subjects represented all stages of cancer, tumor sites, and different demographic characteristics. Two self-designed structured questionnaires including reasons, types of pain and pain management were used by patients and physicians respectively. Subjects were asked to report whether he/she had experienced any type of cancer related pain and filled out the equivalent questionnaire. The severity of pain was assessed by using "visual analogue scale". Original data input and analysis were using EPI-INFO software package.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The result showed that 61.6% (958/1555) of patients had different types of cancer related pain. Majority of pain (85.1%) were caused by advanced cancer. The major reasons (64.4%) for poor management or impedimental factors of pain care are due to patient including over-concern on opioid analgesic addiction, reluctance to report pain or refused to use opioid analgesic until at times when pain is intolerable; 26.8% belonged to physician's reasons including fear to cause addiction on opioid and lack of knowledge about cancer pain management; 16.2% are due to lack of different kinds of opioid analgesic for use and 16.1% belonged to drug regulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results showed that majority of patients (61.6%) had different types of cancer related pain. In most of patients, cancer pain was relieved when they were treated. The major reason for under-treatment or impeded factors for effective relief of cancer pain was fear of opioid addiction by both medical professionals and patients.
authors.affiliation: National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing 100083. zhiminliu@mail.bjmu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lü
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders; D010148:Intractable Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid