Abstract

AIM: One of the main challenges in pain management in cancer patients is the presence of neuropathic pain. Inadequate assessment of neuropathic pain results in inaccurate diagnosis and, consequently, ineffective treatment. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalance of neuropathic pain in cancer patients and establish the therapeutic methods used for cancer patients with neuropathic pain. MATERIAL AND METHOD: One hundred and eight cancer patients who started analgesic treatment were included in the study. Based on examinations, patients with neuropathic pain were assigned into one of two groups: Group 1: Patients who were not diagnosed with neuropathic pain; Group 2: Patients who were diagnosed with neuropathic pain and were on adjuvant medication. Patient demographics, type of cancer, intensity of pain using visual analog scale (VAS), etiology of neuropathic pain (cancer-related, cancer treatment-related or both) and the analgesic ladder used (Based on analgesic ladder system devised by World Health Organization ) were recorded. FINDINGS: Neuropathic pain was determined in 47 (43.5%) of the 108 patients. Among the 47 patients with neuropathic pain, 20 patients (42.5%) were in Group 1 and 27 patients (57.5%) were in Group 2. It was noted that neuropathic pain could be diagnosed only in 27 patients (25%) previously although 47 patients (43.5%) had neuropathic pain. Mean VAS scores of patients in Groups 1 and 2 were 7.6±1.6 and 6.2±2.2, respectively. intensity of pain among patients of Group 1 was statistically signifıcantly higher than those of Group 2 (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in the analgesic ladder and etiology of neuropathic pain between patients in Groups 1 and 2 (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: In the present study, we determined the prevalance of neuropathic pain in cancer patients, established that neuropathic pain is more common and that there is a problem in diagnosing neuropathic pain in clinical practice. We found the intensity of pain to be higher in undiagnosed patients. This result highlights the importance of accurate diagnosis in the effective management of neuropathic pain in cancer patients.