Treatment Options for Cancer Pain

Cancer pain is usually treated mainly with medication, and surgical treatment often needs to be considered in the context of the patient’s overall physical condition and survival. After the cause of pain is clearly identified and treated, the analgesic effect and the degree of pain relief must be evaluated in order to formulate the future treatment plan and drug dosage. (1) Principles of drug treatment for cancer pain: ①Take drugs orally as much as possible to facilitate long-term drug use and reduce dependence and addiction. (2) Give the medication regularly and on time, rather than giving it when pain occurs. (3) Give medication according to the step, according to the “three step therapy” recommended by WHO for cancer pain. ④The medication should be individualized. ⑤ Pay attention to the use of anxiolytic, antidepressant and hormonal drugs, which can improve the effect of analgesic treatment. (2) The “three-step therapy” of cancer pain medication: ① First step – non-opioid analgesics: used for patients with mild cancer pain, the main drugs are aspirin, acetaminophen (paracetamol), etc. The main drugs include codeine, which is generally recommended to be used in combination with the first-tier drugs because the mechanism of action of the two drugs is different, with the first-tier drugs mainly acting on the peripheral nervous system and the second-tier drugs mainly acting on the central nervous system. (3) Third-order drugs – strong opioid analgesics: used for the treatment of moderate or severe cancer pain, when the first-order and second-order drugs are ineffective, the main drug is morphine. 2.Surgical treatment (1)Posterior median posterior cord dissection (PMM): animal experiments and cadaveric neuroanatomy have confirmed that most of the upstream conduction pathways of visceral nociception are upstream through the dorsal column of the spinal cord, especially for the conduction of visceral nociception in the pelvis and lower abdomen, the role of the dorsal column of the spinal cord even exceeds that of the thalamic tract of the spinal cord. In 1997, Nauta et al. were the first to report a case of thoracic 8 PMM for the treatment of advanced recalcitrant pelvic and lower abdominal visceral pain in cervical cancer with definite efficacy. 1999, Becker et al. in Germany also reported a case of lung cancer with epigastric and mid-abdominal pain after surgery, and thoracic 4 PMM significantly relieved the pain symptoms. 2000, KimYS et al. in Korea reported successful 8 cases of thoracic 1-2 segmental PMM were administered, all of which were abdominal visceral pain caused by gastric cancer, and the pain relief effect was positive. (2) Spinal cord pain relief surgery: According to the different locations and characteristics of cancerous visceral pain, posterior spinal nerve root dissection, anterolateral spinal cord bundle dissection and anterior joint spinal cord dissection are considered. Since the surgery damages the spinal cord structures and may cause other complications such as motor or sensory disorders, it should be carefully selected in consideration of the overall functional status of the patient.