Kok Yuen Ho1, Jin Seok Ahn2, Maria Minerva Calimag3, Ta-Chung Chao4,5, Yong-Chul Kim6, Hanlim Moon7, Lye Mun Tho8, Zhong-Jun Xia9, Dora You7. 1. Pain Management Service, Raffles Hospital, Singapore. 2. Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. 3. Departments of Pharmacology, Clinical Epidemiology and Anesthesiology, University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and the UST Hospital, Manila, Philippines. 4. Institute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. 5. Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Oncology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. 6. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. 7. Mundipharma Pte Ltd., Singapore. 8. Department of Clinical Oncology, Beacon International Specialist Centre, Selangor, Malaysia. 9. Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
Abstract
AIM: To examine the treatment practices for cancer pain relief and adverse event management, and the factors related to patient outcomes in the participating countries/regions. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional survey conducted between September and December 2013 in 10 countries/regions across Asia. Adult patients with a history of cancer pain at least 1 month before study entry completed the survey questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 1190 patients were included. The mean Box Scale-11 (BS-11) pain score was 6.0 (SD 2.1), with 86.2% experiencing moderate-to-severe pain and 53.2% receiving opioids at time of the survey. The mean BS-11 scores were 5.3 (SD 2.1) in the "others" (single non-opioid medication or untreated) group, 6.3 (SD 2.0) in the ≥2 non-opioids group and 6.7 (SD 1.9) in the opioid group. The proportions of patients experiencing moderate-to-severe pain were 79.1%, 87.3% and 93.7%, respectively. About 70% of patients reported adverse events due to their pain medications, about half had received medications to manage these symptoms. Adverse events were negatively associated with activities of daily living (P < 0.0001). Pain and hindrance to activities of daily living were negatively associated with employment status (P = 0.003 and 0.021). Unemployment was significantly associated with poorer quality of life (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This analysis demonstrates inadequate management of cancer pain and treatment-related adverse events in the participating cohort. Pain and inadequate management of adverse events were negatively associated with patients' overall well-being. More collaborative efforts should be taken to optimize pain treatment and increase awareness of adverse event management in physicians.
AIM: To examine the treatment practices for cancer pain relief and adverse event management, and the factors related to patient outcomes in the participating countries/regions. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional survey conducted between September and December 2013 in 10 countries/regions across Asia. Adult patients with a history of cancer pain at least 1 month before study entry completed the survey questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 1190 patients were included. The mean Box Scale-11 (BS-11) pain score was 6.0 (SD 2.1), with 86.2% experiencing moderate-to-severe pain and 53.2% receiving opioids at time of the survey. The mean BS-11 scores were 5.3 (SD 2.1) in the "others" (single non-opioid medication or untreated) group, 6.3 (SD 2.0) in the ≥2 non-opioids group and 6.7 (SD 1.9) in the opioid group. The proportions of patients experiencing moderate-to-severe pain were 79.1%, 87.3% and 93.7%, respectively. About 70% of patients reported adverse events due to their pain medications, about half had received medications to manage these symptoms. Adverse events were negatively associated with activities of daily living (P < 0.0001). Pain and hindrance to activities of daily living were negatively associated with employment status (P = 0.003 and 0.021). Unemployment was significantly associated with poorer quality of life (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: This analysis demonstrates inadequate management of cancer pain and treatment-related adverse events in the participating cohort. Pain and inadequate management of adverse events were negatively associated with patients' overall well-being. More collaborative efforts should be taken to optimize pain treatment and increase awareness of adverse event management in physicians.
Authors: Hester Stoorvogel; Jolanda van Haastregt; Maurice Theunissen; Janna Schoenmaekers; Ann Hoeben; Marieke van den Beuken-van Everdingen Journal: Eur J Cancer Care (Engl) Date: 2022-06-06 Impact factor: 2.328