Pain after cancer: Time to move towards a mechanism-based approach!

The high prevalence and the debilitating nature of pain following cancer urge the need for appropriate pain assessment and management in this population. Yet cancer pain remains under-recognized and under-treated. For effective pain management, correct identification of the presence of different underlying pain mechanisms is warranted, since pain management strategies differ considerably according to the predominant mechanisms. To raise awareness around possible underlying pain mechanisms in pain after cancer, the three major pain mechanisms are shortly explained and translated to this specific population. Next, in this Special Issue, we delve further into the existing evidence on the presence of these pain mechanisms in patients with pain after cancer, and on how they can be assessed or approached in patients with pain after cancer.