title: Multidisciplinary management of cancer pain: a longitudinal retrospective study on a cohort of end-stage cancer patients.
abstract: The epidemiology of cancer pain and the outcomes associated with pain treatments were investigated through a retrospective survey of 772 patients with advanced cancer. The cumulative prevalence of pain was 87%, including all types of cancer. Mean duration of pain was 6.9+/-8.1 months. The prevalence of pain was 28%, 46%, 67%, 75%, and 79% at 6 months, 3 months, 1 month, 1 week, and 1 day before the time of death, respectively. The so-called "strong" opioids had been used in 85% of the 669 patients with pain. Seventy-nine percent of patients with pain received nonsurgical antineoplastic treatment for pain control. No more than 11% of patients ultimately experienced substantial pain in the last 6 months of life (defined as pain score 5-10 on a 0-10 numeric rating scale). We conclude that the application of a multidisciplinary approach to pain management offers effective pain control for most patients with advanced cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Koo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center, Republic of China. peng@mail.kfcc.org.tw
authors.forename: Wen Ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Gong Jhe
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wei Zen
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jeffrey C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Andrew T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D059408:Pain Management; D010147:Pain Measurement; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013727:Terminal Care; D016896:Treatment Outcome