Opioid analgesics in the management of cancer pain.

Great progress has been made in the management of cancer pain during the last twenty years. The hospice movement has been a major force for recognizing the importance ofimproving the level of symptom control for patients with advanced disease. However, many patients still suffer greatly from cancer pain, unnecessarily. Inadequate doses of analgesics, inappropriate dosing schedules, extrapolation from acute pain management models and from single dose studies to the management of chronic, malignant pain and failure to individualize drug therapy contribute to these treatment failures.