ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2024
Evaluating pain management practices for cancer patients among health professionals in cancer and supportive/palliative care units: a Belgian survey.
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Use of Tele-Music Interventions in Supportive Cancer Care: A Systematic Review.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Pain Assessment and Management in Oncological Practice: A Survey from the Italian Network of Supportive Care in Oncology.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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40 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPain is reported in 66% of cancer patients with advanced disease. Adequate pain management is a cornerstone of comprehensive supportive cancer care. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess pain management in Oncology Units in Belgium.
methodsA descriptive research design was applied. A structured questionnaire developed by a writing committee was sent to 37 healthcare professionals in 2021. Twenty-four replied.
resultsIn most centers, pain management is organized through the pain clinic (91.7%), followed by a multidisciplinary team (83.3%) and the palliative care unit (75%). Eighty-seven percent use tools to assess the pain, mostly for in-patients. Pain guidelines are applied in 17 centers with the ESMO guidelines being the most often mentioned. Mild to moderate pain is managed with paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and tramadol. All centers handle severe pain with strong opioids, including buprenorphine and fentanyl. Only 62% are concerned about the side effects of strong opioids. In case of neuropathic pain, treatments with pregabalin, gabapentine, and tricyclic antidepressants are the most common, followed by opioids and interventional therapies for refractory neuropathic pain. Asking advice to the pain clinic, combination therapy and opioid rotation are used for patients with inadequate analgesia. Eighty to 90% of the centers have access to intraspinal and epidural techniques, respectively. An active teaching program on pain relief is offered in 66%, but only 33% of the centers do active research focused on pain management.
conclusionsThis is the first survey on pain management in the Belgian centers. Surprisingly only one-third of the health professionals ask advice to the pain clinic in case of inadequate pain relief, meaning that we are far away from a multidisciplinary patient-centered approach. Therefore, the BSMO Supportive Care Task Force promotes the development of an interdisciplinary committee in every oncology unit.
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