Efficacy of Multidisciplinary Pain Management for Advanced Cancer Patients

The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and affecting factors of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) on cancer-related pain in patients with advanced cancer.

A retrospective analysis was performed on patients receiving pain management from November 2018 to December 2023 by the MDT. Pain intensity, pain management index (PMI), pain response, and Barthel index of activities of daily living (BADL) were assessed at baseline and/or after 2 weeks of MDT interventions. Univariate and multiple logistic analyses were conducted to identify risk indicators for pain response.

After interventions, pain intensity, numerical rating scale (NRS) scores, and PMI significantly improved in all patients (p < .001). Subgroup analyses revealed that pain intensity and NRS scores were notably reduced, while PMI increased after the interventions in the responders (p < .001). Conversely, no significant changes were observed in pain intensity, NRS scores, or PMI for the nonresponders following MDT intervention. MDT interventions did not lead to improvements in BADL for either group. Patients who underwent radiotherapy exhibited a significantly higher overall response rate (ORR) compared to those without radiotherapy (100% vs 60.8%, p = .033). In univariate analysis, lower KPS scores and visceral pain showed negative associations with pain response. However, in multivariate analysis, neither maintained significance.

The pain MDT demonstrated remarkable improvements in clinical management and pain control. Further prospective studies are warranted to investigate predictive factors associated with pain treatment.