Cancer survival is becoming more common which means that there is now a growing population of cancer survivors, in whom pain may be common. However, its prevalence has hardly been addressed systematically. We aimed to assess the prevalence and explore the pathophysiology and impact of pain on health outcomes in cancer survivors. We conducted a retrospective–prospective cohort study in cancer-free patients diagnosed with cancer at least five years before the study start date. We used multivariable regression to establish the association of patients’ cancer characteristics with pain, and then the association of patients’ pain features with health outcomes and related symptoms. Between March and July 2021, 278 long-term cancer survivors were evaluated. Almost half of them (130/278, 46.8%) had pain, of whom 58.9% had a probable neuropathic component, but only 18 (13.8%) were taking specific drugs for neuropathic pain. A history of surgery-related pain syndrome in breast cancer patients was more than twice as frequent in the pain cohort. Post-chemotherapy and post-radiotherapy pain syndromes were uncommon. Pain was associated with lower QoL, emotional functioning, professional performance, and disability scores. Pain is a frequent health determinant in cancer survivors. Referral to specialised pain services may be a reasonable move in some cases.
随着癌症生存率的提高，癌症幸存者群体日益扩大，疼痛问题在这一人群中可能普遍存在。然而，其患病率尚未得到系统性研究。本研究旨在评估癌症幸存者疼痛的患病率，并探讨其病理生理机制及对健康结局的影响。我们开展了一项回顾性-前瞻性队列研究，纳入在研究开始日期至少五年前确诊且当前无癌症迹象的患者。通过多变量回归分析，我们首先评估了患者癌症特征与疼痛的关联性，进而分析了疼痛特征与健康结局及相关症状的关系。2021年3月至7月期间，共评估了278名长期癌症幸存者。其中近半数（130/278，46.8%）存在疼痛问题，且58.9%的患者疼痛可能具有神经病理性成分，但仅18人（13.8%）正在接受针对神经病理性疼痛的特定药物治疗。在疼痛组中，乳腺癌患者出现手术相关疼痛综合征的比例是非疼痛组的两倍以上。化疗后及放疗后疼痛综合征则较为少见。疼痛与较低的生活质量、情绪功能、职业表现评分及较高的功能障碍评分显著相关。疼痛是影响癌症幸存者健康状况的常见因素，部分患者转诊至专业疼痛诊疗机构可能是合理的干预方向。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家