Vol 5, No 2 (2009)
Guidelines / Expert consensus
Published online: 2009-04-20
Consensus statement with focus on cancer pain management
Onkol. Prak. Klin 2009;5(2):55-68.
Abstract
In Poland, malignant diseases claim over 80 thousand lives annually. Pain may appear at any stage of
cancer and manifests itself, on average, in 50% of patients, and at advanced stages of the disease - in over
75% of patients. The pain accompanying cancers is varied, as are its underlying mechanisms. Depending
on its aetiology, pain may be related to the disease process itself, to the anti-cancer treatment and to cancerrelated
wasting. There is also coexistent pain unrelated to the underlying disease process. Pharmacotherapy
constitutes the basic method of pain treatment in cancer patients. In 1986, the World Health Organization
proposed and introduced a simple formula for pharmacological treatment of cancer pain, whose practical
application is effective in 85–90% of patients and whose principles are reviewed in this study. The paper also
presents other, non-pharmacological methods of pain treatment (ones that modify the course of the disease,
physical therapy, psychological therapy, methods that improve the quality of life, as well as blocks and neurolytic
procedures). The article concludes with a discussion of issues related to the treatment of total pain and
pain in the process of dying.
Keywords: cancer patientspain mechanismspain managementopioids
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