Opioids and Pain Management in Cancer Survivors

europathic pain is related to abnormal somatosensory processes that directly affect the peripheral or central nervous system. Cancer can cause neuropathic pain by direct invasion, irritation, or external pressure on peripheral neural structures. In addition, antineoplastic therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, can damage peripheral nerves and lead to neuropathic pain. In most cases, however, nerve injury occurs in tandem with damage to other structures, and the pain has a mixed pathophysiology, with both somatic and neuropathic components. An expert panel consisting of Stein Kaasa, MD (Professor of Palliative Medicine and Director of the Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway), Mario di Palma, MD (Medical Oncologist, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France), Mike Bennett, MD (Professor of Palliative Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Leeds, UK) and Arun Bhaskar, MD (Consultant of Pain Medicine, Anaesthesia and Critical Care, Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK) discuss cancer related neuropathic pain, which is complex and distressing for patients. Neuropathic cancer pain is an important topic in the treatment of patients with advanced cancer, as well as survivors after curative cancer care.