Prevalence of Chronic Postsurgical Pain among Cancer Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Cancer patients accept surgeries as part of their treatment. They may not be aware of the possibility of surgical pain persisting long after the surgery. Understanding chronic postsurgical pain is essential for effective pain management.

We aimed to assess the prevalence of chronic postsurgical pain in cancer patients and the associated symptom burden.

This study was carried out at a tertiary cancer center. It was a cross-sectional study.

Participants who underwent surgeries were asked to provide feedback on the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory at 3 months.

Descriptive statistics were used. Statistical tests included Kruskal-Wallis test, Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Spearman's correlation. Logistic regression was used to assess the influence of variables on the presence or absence of chronic postsurgical pain.

Nine hundred and eighteen participants completed the study. Ninety-two percent (n = 840) were asymptomatic. Eight percent (n = 78) had postsurgical pain. Chronic postsurgical pain was influenced by the type of surgery (P = 0.01), specifically orthopedic and thoracic surgeries. Patients who receive epidurals are three times less likely to continue to have pain at 3 months.

The prevalence of chronic postsurgical pain at 3 months in this study is lower than the rates in the literature. It is still associated with symptom burden that interferes with daily life. The risk of developing chronic postsurgical pain increases with thoracic and orthopedic surgeries. The risk may be lowered with epidural analgesia.