The pharmacological treatment of bone pain

Bone pain is the commonest type of pain in cancer patients. A systematic but simple approach to the use of analgesic and adjuvant drugs, in conjunction with more specific tumoricidal treatments, is usually successful in relieving bone pain. An opioid analgesic in adequate dose in conjunction with various co-analgesics is the cornerstone of symptomatic drug treatment. Incident (movement-related) pain may be difficult to control and may necessitate the use of physical aids or changes in lifestyle in addition to the usual pain-relieving measures.