Encountering a Neglected Area of a Healthcare System: A Decade of Improvement in Cancer Pain Clinical Practice in Iran

BACKGROUND: With the increase in the prevalence of cancer, cancer-related issues also deserve more attention especially in developing countries where there is already limited access to high-quality healthcare. Cancer-related pain, the most common and the most annoying one, is not only a symptom but also an important subspecialty and its management is still challenging. OBJECTIVES: To assess the level of pain and cancer pain knowledge in Iran in comparison with the whole world. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A search of the literature including papers published in PubMed before March 2016 was carried out. RESULTS: There have been an increasing number of publications on pain since 1842 and a growing number of publications on cancer pain since 1929. There has also been remarkable growth in our understanding of cancer pain, particularly since 2010. More than one-third of studies on pain and cancer-related pain were published after 2010. CONCLUSION: There is a need to be more inventive with the management of cancer-related issues, especially pain in developing countries, to maximize the quality and quantity of healthcare delivery to cancer-stricken patients. It seems that non-governmental organizations like MAHAK can play a significant role in this goal.