Spinal Cord Stimulation to Treat Unresponsive Cancer Pain: A Possible Solution in Palliative Oncological Therapy.
Federica PaoliniGianluca FeriniLapo BonosiRoberta CostanzoLara BrunassoUmberto Emanuele BenignoMassimiliano PorzioRosa Maria GerardiGiuseppe Roberto GiammalvaGiuseppe Emmanuele Emmanuele UmanaFrancesca GrazianoGianluca ScaliaCarmelo Lucio SturialeRina Di BonaventuraDomenico Gerardo IacopinoRosario MaugeriPublished in: Life (Basel, Switzerland) (2022)
(1) Background: Treatment of cancer-related pain is still challenging, and it can be managed by both medical and interventional therapies. Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) is a minimally invasive technique, and its use is rapidly increasing in the treatment of chronic pain. (2) Materials and Methods: Our study aims to perform a review of the pertinent literature about current evidences in cancer pain treatment by Spinal Cord Stimulation. Moreover, we created a database based on case reports or case series (18 studies) in the literature. We analyzed a clinical group of oncological patients affected by intractable pain undergoing SCS implantation, focusing on outcome. (3) Results: The analysis of the 18 included studies in our series has shown a reduction in painful symptoms in 48 out of 56 treated patients (87.51%); also 53 out of 56 patients (96.64%) have shown an improvement in their Quality of Life (QoL). (4) Conclusions: Spinal Cord Stimulation can be considered an efficient method in the treatment of cancer-related pain. However, literature regarding SCS for the treatment of cancer-related pain is largely represented by case reports and small case series, with no effective population studies or Randomized Controlled Trials demonstrating the efficacy and the level of evidence. Further prospective studies are needed.
Keyphrases
- chronic pain
- spinal cord
- neuropathic pain
- end stage renal disease
- pain management
- ejection fraction
- chronic kidney disease
- newly diagnosed
- minimally invasive
- systematic review
- spinal cord injury
- healthcare
- prostate cancer
- peritoneal dialysis
- prognostic factors
- squamous cell carcinoma
- rectal cancer
- depressive symptoms
- mesenchymal stem cells
- clinical trial
- electronic health record
- sleep quality
- patient reported
- chemotherapy induced