Cancer Pain, Cancer Survivors
Conditions
Keywords
Pain, Cancer, Chronic pain, Persistent pain
Brief summary
Development and internal validation of an easy-to-use tool for clinical pain assessment. The tool has to be applicable in any clinical practice and without the need for expensive and complicated hospital tools to identify the source of persistent pain after the treatment of cancer.
Detailed description
An adequate selection of physiotherapy treatment for persistent pain after the treatment of cancer, depends highly on the mechanism of the pain. Pain can arise from a damaged nerve or tissue (skin, lymphatic system...). But when pain becomes chronic, alterations to the central nervous system can occur, as regulations of the facilitating and inhibiting mechanisms. These alterations may cause central sensitization pain. The body is now sensitized and cannot distinct harmful from harmless stimuli. Each type of pain requires a specific treatment, therefore identification of the pain mechanism is crucial. Up till now, expensive and complex tests were performed in a hospital setting to determine if a patient suffers from neuropathic, nociceptive or central sensitization pain. This study aims for developping an assessment tool that does not require expensive devices but can be easily performed by any physiotherapist, within the timeframe of a standard consultation.
Interventions
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTDiagnostic test (PainsCan) for the identification of the dominant pain mechanisms in cancer survivers with persistent pain
Easy-to-use screening tool to identify the dominant pain mechanism by using quick clinical tests and compare their accuracy and validity with complicated reference tests.
Sponsors
Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders, Belgium
Universitaire Ziekenhuizen KU Leuven
Study design
Observational model
OTHER
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Patient treated for primary cancer: breast, prostate, lung/bronchus, colon/rectum, gynecologic (uterus or ovary) * Complete remission * Curative treatment finished * Ongoing hormonal and targeted treatment permitted * Patient experiences pain (NRS minimum 3/10 during the past week)
Exclusion criteria
* Active metastasis * Palliative status * Other type of cancer than mentioned in inclusion criteria * Pregnancy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Axillary web syndrome | 2 minutes | Nociceptive pain: pain that arises from a damaged tissue is assessed by visually examining the presence of lymph cords in the axilla (8) |
| Evaluation of skin | 20 seconds | Nociceptive pain: pain that arises from a damaged tissue is assessed by visual evaluation of the skin condition (1) |
| Lymphedema | 4 minutes | Nociceptive pain: pain that arises from a damaged tissue is assessed by examining the presence of lymphedema by measuring the circumference of the arm (2) |
| Joint pain | 30 seconds | Nociceptive pain: pain that arises from a damaged tissue is assessed by examining if several joints are sore, especially in the morning (3) |
| Active mobility | 2,5 minutes | Nociceptive pain: pain that arises from a damaged tissue is assessed by examining the movements the patient can perform (4) |
| Passive mobility | 3,5 minutes | Nociceptive pain: pain that arises from a damaged tissue is assessed by examining the movements the clinician can perform on the patient (5) |
| Strength | 1,5 minutes | Nociceptive pain: pain that arises from a damaged tissue is assessed by the strength the patient can perform in a specific movement (6) |
| Scar tissue | 2 minutes | Nociceptive pain: pain that arises from a damaged tissue is assessed by examining the elasticity of the scar tissue by manual palpation of the clinician (7) |
| Douleur Neuropathic 4 questions (DN4) questionnaire | 2 minutes | Neuropathic pain: pain that arises from a damaged nerve is assessed with a questionnaire (1) |
| Quantitative sensory testing | 20 minutes | Neuropathic pain: pain that arises from a damaged nerve is assessed by measuring thermal thresholds (2) |
| Pain mapping | 1 minute | Neuropathic pain: pain that arises from a damaged nerve is assessed by painting affected areas on a body chart (3) |
| Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) questionnaire | 5 minutes | Central sensitization pain: pain caused by changes in the central nervous system is assessed with a questionnaire (1) |
| Conditioned pain modulation | 10 minutes | Central sensitization pain: pain caused by changes in the central nervous system is assessed with a thermal test (2) |
| Temporal summation | 2,5 minutes | Central sensitization pain: pain caused by changes in the central nervous system is assessed with a series of touch stimuli (3) |
| Diffuse pain | 0,5 minute | Central sensitization pain: pain caused by changes in the central nervous system is assessed by painting affected areas on a body chart (4) |
| Manual palpation | 3 minutes | Central sensitization pain: pain caused by changes in the central nervous system is assessed by applying pressure with manual palpation (5) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Depression, anxiety and stress | 7 minutes | Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) |
| Pain Self-efficacy and Expectations: questionnaire | 5 minutes | Pain self-efficacy and expectations questionnaire |
| Pain character: questionnaire | 4 minutes | McGill Pain questionnaire |
| Pain disability: Pain Disability Index | 3 minutes | Pain Disability Index |
| Pain intensity: Visual Analogue Scale | 1 minute | Visual Analogue Scale at the moment, worst and least pain during the past week |
| Pain questionnaire | 30 seconds | Brief Pain Inventory |
| Pain catastrophizing scale | 6 minutes | Pain catastrophizing scale |
Countries
Belgium
Outcome results
None listed