[Staged analgesic therapy in tumor pain]

Overall, pain is one of the most common symptoms associated with cancer and often produces greater anticipatory distress than other features of the disease. Drug selection depends on the intensity of pain rather than on the specific pathophysiology. Mild to moderate pain can often be treated effectively by so-called "weak" opioids. Non-opioid analgesics, like acetyl-salicylic acid or paracetamol can be added according to the "analgesic ladder" proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Opioids should be given on a fixed time schedule thereby, preventing pain from recurring. Additional rescue doses (approximately 50 degrees, of baseline single dose) are given for breakthrough pain. Noninvasive (oral, rectal, sublingual, transdermal and intranasal) routes of application should be maintained as long as possible to preserve independence and mobility. When treatment by infusion therapy (subcutaneous, intravenous, epidural) has been elected, the addition of patient controlled analgesia (PCA), which permits patients to administer a preset amount of narcotic at preset intervals, is an effective means to manage breakthrough and incident pain in selected patients. Antidepressants, anticonvulsants and some antiarrhytmics are used as co-analgesics. Oral medication alone can guarantee pain relief in about 95% of the patients. The WHO analgesic ladder has proven effective in all settings of patients care.