Virtual reality for management of cancer pain: Study rationale and design

Patients with cancer commonly experience acute and/or chronic moderate to severe pain related to disease, treatment, or both. While pain management strategies typically focus on drug therapies, non-pharmacological interventions may prove beneficial without risk of significant clinical side effects or contraindications. One novel strategy, virtual reality, has been shown to improve pain control in addition to usual pharmacological interventions.

This is a prospective, two-armed, single center randomized controlled study of a virtual reality intervention in 128 hospitalized subjects with cancer reporting pain rated at least 4/10 compared to an active control intervention, two-dimensional guided imagery. The primary outcome is change in self-reported pain score. Secondary end points include changes in self-reported distress, quality of life, and satisfaction with pain management. We will also explore patient preferences for distraction therapy content and themes through quantitative analysis of survey data, semi-structured interviews, and a collaging exercise.

This randomized controlled study aims to provide empiric data to support application and expansion of novel technologies such as virtual reality to augment usual pharmacological pain management strategies in hospitalized patients with cancer.