Complex Cancer Pain - When Intrathecal Analgesia Is Not Enough

Abstract

Pain is a distressing symptom that affects about 66% of patients with advanced cancer. Among these, 51.9% have moderate to severe pain [1]. Approximately 75-90% of patients with cancer related pain syndromes achieve symptom control with treatment guided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Pain Relief [2]. However this means that 10-20% of patients do not achieve satisfactory pain control [3]. Patients with complex pain require more time to achieve stable pain control and may require different interventions [4] including intrathecal analgesia.