Abstract
Cancer pain is among the most undesirable side effects and complications for cancer patients. Severe cancer pain acts as physical and psychological stress and makes it difficult for patients to perform daily activities. Uncontrolled cancer pain can be emotionally devastating to patients. However, cancer pain can be controlled with pharmacologic treatment. Traditionally, cancer pain was treated according to the WHO three-step analgesic ladder based on the severity of pain. Recently, it has become to administer weak opioids as well as non-opioid analgesics to patients with mild pain. For moderate pain, weak opioids or strong opioids can be used. Non-opioid analgesics and adjuvant analgesics can be used as an adjuvant to opioids for all severities of cancer pain. Effective cancer pain management depends on the proper selection of a drug, dose, and route and depends on treatment of common side effects associated with the medication. The usage of medication should be individualized to each patient. If necessary, we may use other modalities such as radiotherapy, nerve block, and non-pharmacologic interventions for cancer pain control. The goal of treatment of cancer pain is to obtain complete or partial pain relief with tolerable side effects of the medication, and ultimately, to improve the quality of life of cancer patients.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 666-675 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of the Korean Medical Association |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 Jul 1 |
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Keywords
- Drug therapy
- Neoplasms
- Pain
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
Recent trends in pharmacologic treatment of cancer pain. / Sohn, Keun Sook; Kim, Jae Hwan.
In: Journal of the Korean Medical Association, Vol. 55, No. 7, 01.07.2012, p. 666-675.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Recent trends in pharmacologic treatment of cancer pain
AU - Sohn, Keun Sook
AU - Kim, Jae Hwan
PY - 2012/7/1
Y1 - 2012/7/1
N2 - Cancer pain is among the most undesirable side effects and complications for cancer patients. Severe cancer pain acts as physical and psychological stress and makes it difficult for patients to perform daily activities. Uncontrolled cancer pain can be emotionally devastating to patients. However, cancer pain can be controlled with pharmacologic treatment. Traditionally, cancer pain was treated according to the WHO three-step analgesic ladder based on the severity of pain. Recently, it has become to administer weak opioids as well as non-opioid analgesics to patients with mild pain. For moderate pain, weak opioids or strong opioids can be used. Non-opioid analgesics and adjuvant analgesics can be used as an adjuvant to opioids for all severities of cancer pain. Effective cancer pain management depends on the proper selection of a drug, dose, and route and depends on treatment of common side effects associated with the medication. The usage of medication should be individualized to each patient. If necessary, we may use other modalities such as radiotherapy, nerve block, and non-pharmacologic interventions for cancer pain control. The goal of treatment of cancer pain is to obtain complete or partial pain relief with tolerable side effects of the medication, and ultimately, to improve the quality of life of cancer patients.
AB - Cancer pain is among the most undesirable side effects and complications for cancer patients. Severe cancer pain acts as physical and psychological stress and makes it difficult for patients to perform daily activities. Uncontrolled cancer pain can be emotionally devastating to patients. However, cancer pain can be controlled with pharmacologic treatment. Traditionally, cancer pain was treated according to the WHO three-step analgesic ladder based on the severity of pain. Recently, it has become to administer weak opioids as well as non-opioid analgesics to patients with mild pain. For moderate pain, weak opioids or strong opioids can be used. Non-opioid analgesics and adjuvant analgesics can be used as an adjuvant to opioids for all severities of cancer pain. Effective cancer pain management depends on the proper selection of a drug, dose, and route and depends on treatment of common side effects associated with the medication. The usage of medication should be individualized to each patient. If necessary, we may use other modalities such as radiotherapy, nerve block, and non-pharmacologic interventions for cancer pain control. The goal of treatment of cancer pain is to obtain complete or partial pain relief with tolerable side effects of the medication, and ultimately, to improve the quality of life of cancer patients.
KW - Drug therapy
KW - Neoplasms
KW - Pain
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84864035530&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84864035530&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5124/jkma.2012.55.7.666
DO - 10.5124/jkma.2012.55.7.666
M3 - Review article
VL - 55
SP - 666
EP - 675
JO - Journal of the Korean Medical Association
JF - Journal of the Korean Medical Association
SN - 1975-8456
IS - 7
ER -