ASCO releases guidelines for treating chronic pain in cancer survivors

The American Society of Clinical Oncology yesterday released updated guidelines for the management of chronic pain in adult cancer survivors that urge clinicians to screen for pain at each encounter and carefully weigh the use of opioids for certain patients who do not respond to more conservative management, among other recommendations. “Many guidelines and recommendations have been advanced to support the management of cancer pain, yet the focus of these documents has been primarily on relieving acute pain or pain associated with advanced disease,” the authors wrote. “Few evidence-based cancer pain guidelines address the more nuanced care required when pain persists for months or years. This situation is in part caused by the relative absence of studies exploring the experiences of chronic pain in cancer survivors, or the long-term safety and effectiveness of analgesic interventions.” The guidelines were endorsed by an ASCO-convened panel after a systematic literature review of more than 60 studies investigating chronic pain management in adult cancer survivors.