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In a recent review of 52 clinical studies, the prevalence rates of pain were calculated for four groups:

. Patients in pain after treatment (33%)
. Patients receiving treatment (59%)
. Pain associated with advanced, terminal cancer (64%)
. Patients in all disease stages (53%)

Cancer pain depends on the region affected. Types of cancer pain include:

. Spinal cord compression pain - When a cancer tumor spreads near the spine, it can press on the spinal cord, resulting in spinal cord compression. This causes neck and/or back pain, which is often accompanied by numbness, weakness, and/or tingling of one or more extremities.
. Bone pain - When cancer spreads to the bones, bone pain occurs. This is often a deep, aching sensation in one or more affected bone regions.
. Procedure and test pain - Certain tests and procedures used to diagnose and treat cancer are painful.
. Phantom pain - This is a long-lasting effect from surgery. If you have a body part or extremity removed due to cancer, you may still experience pain from the phantom body region.

According to the World Health Organization, the most painful cancers are of the bone, brain, pancreas, lymph nodes, lung, and head/neck. Around 85% of cancer pain occurs due to the underlying cancer, with 17% of patients having pain secondary to antineoplastic therapies.

Cancer pain is complex, involving neuropathic, inflammatory, and compression mechanisms, as well as multiple pain sites. Chronic cancer pain is prolonged and fluctuating, and can be severe or mild. The pain can be aching, dull, throbbing, twisting, burning, and/or squeezing.

Cancer pain is treated depending on the cause of the pain. Options include:

Medications - Steroids can be prescribed to shrink the tumor, and doctors often use powerful analgesics.

Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) - Used for phantom pain, TENS is a device with wires and electrodes, which are positioned on the skin. Electrical current is delivered to the affected region to decrease pain.

Radiation therapy - External radiation is often used to treat a weakened bone or shrink a tumor.

Celiac plexus block - With this procedure used for pelvic and abdomen cancers, a small needle is inserted into the back using x-ray guidance. The doctor injects a long-acting anesthetic onto the celiac plexus nerves, which supply the pelvis. The success rate for this block is 85-90%, according to clinical research.

Sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) - For pelvic, bladder, or bowel cancer pain, a device can be surgically implanted near the lower back to deliver electrical current to the nerves. SNS was found to have an efficacy rate of 71% in a recent study.

Stellate ganglion block - For nerve pain related to phantom pain, the doctor can inject an anesthetic in the front of the neck near the sympathetic nerve chain. According to a recent report, the efficacy rate of this block is 76%, with half of the patients reporting complete symptom relief.