Pain Management in Pancreatic Cancer

A majority of pancreatic cancer patients present with pain at the time of diagnosis. Pain management can be challenging in light of the aggressive nature of this cancer. Apart from conventional pharmacotherapy, timely treatment with neurolytic celiac plexus block (NCPB) has been shown to be of benefit. NCPB has demonstrated efficacious pain control in high quality studies with analgesic effects lasting one to two months. NCPB has also shown to decrease the requirements of narcotics, and thus decrease opioid related side effects. Another option for the control of moderate to severe pain is intrathecal therapy (IT). Delivery of analgesic medications intrathecally allows for lower dosages of medications and thus reduced toxicity. Both of the above mentioned interventional procedures have been shown to have low complication rates, and be safe and effective. Ultimately, comprehensive pancreatic cancer pain management necessitates understanding of pain mechanisms and delivery of sequential validated therapeutic interventions within a multidisciplinary patient care model.