Treatment of Different Types of Cancer Pain

Overview

Cancer pain in patients with malignant disease can be effectively treated only after evaluation of the exact type of pain. History and clinical evaluationwill help to differentiate between various types of pain. However, patient can suffer from several types of pain concurrently. Every type of pain can bealleviated with appropriate measures, finally bringing it under control as a whole process.There are several types of cancer pain: nociceptive pain (effectively treated according to well known three-step ladder with non-steroidalanti-inflammatory drugs – NSAIDs and opioids). Visceral pain is a part of nociceptive pain; however, selected subtypes can be treated with additionaltherapeutics (corticosteroids). Neurogenic pain, movement-induced pain with inflammatory component, bone pain produced by metastatic process canbe controlled by following methods: pharmacotherapy, radiotherapy, orthopedic intervention, anesthesiologic methods or their combination.

Key words:
cancer pain – types of pain – NSAIDs – opioids – metastases