Breakthrough Cancer Pain: Preliminary Data of The Italian Oncologic Pain Multisetting Multicentric Survey (IOPS-MS)

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pain Management
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Breakthrough cancer pain (BTP) significantly impacts cancer patient quality of life.
• Effective management strategies for BTP are essential in diverse clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the characteristics of breakthrough cancer pain (BTP) in various clinical settings.
• To assess the effectiveness of current BTP management strategies.
• To analyze patient satisfaction with BTP treatments.

Main Methods:

• A national multicenter survey (Italian Oncologic Pain multiSetting Multicentric Survey - IOPS-MS) involving 32 centers.
• Data collection on patient demographics, pain characteristics, and treatments using a standard BTP diagnostic algorithm.
• Assessment of pain intensity, BTP episode frequency, onset, duration, and patient satisfaction.

Main Results:

• Background pain was well-controlled (NRS 3.0 ± 1.1).
• Patients experienced an average of 2.5 BTP episodes/day (intensity 7.5 ± 1.4, duration 43 ± 40 min).
• A majority reported unpredictable BTP (65.1%) with rapid onset (71.7%), and higher satisfaction with fast-onset opioid treatment.

Conclusions:

• The standard algorithm is effective for diagnosing BTP in cancer patients.
• Rapid pain relief is a critical factor for patient satisfaction.
• Further analysis of IOPS-MS data will elucidate BTP characteristics and clinical variable relationships.