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Early Interventional Treatment for Cancer Pain

Pilot Study of Early Referral to Interventional Pain Management for Patients With Advanced Malignancies

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05366413
Enrollment
30
Registered
2022-05-09
Start date
2022-06-02
Completion date
2024-10-26
Last updated
2025-04-16

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cancer Pain

Keywords

Cancer Pain

Brief summary

The purpose of the study is to evaluate how feasible and beneficial it is to refer patients with cancer pain to a doctor who specializes in pain management, including procedures to relieve pain, and whether this is helpful to patients with pain related to their cancer.

Detailed description

This is a single arm pilot study evaluating a new system of referral and pain evaluation for patients with advanced solid tumors and moderate-to-severe pain who are not already on high-dose opioids to an anesthesia-trained interventional pain management specialist . A variety of interventional treatments for pain have been proven effective for cancer patients. Often without early referral patients do not get evaluated for interventional procedures for their pain unless the pain is very severe, or they are admitted to the hospital. It is expect this intervention will work by providing effective pain treatments to patients sooner than they might normally be referred and will be evaluated by how many patients are candidates for interventional treatments for their pain, whether patients choose to receive these treatments, and whether patients find the pain specialist referral acceptable and helpful The research study procedures include screening for eligibility, study interventions including evaluations and follow up visits, as well as surveys at the beginning, middle, and end of the study. Participants will be followed on the study for 4 months. It is expected that about 30 people will take part in this research study. Medtronic and is providing funding for this research study

Interventions

Directing a patient for a pain specialist consult earlier than standardly occurs.

OTHERPain Management Strategies

Specialized plan with procedures to ease pain

Sponsors

Medtronic
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Diagnosis of a metastatic, or locally advanced unresectable malignancy * Anticipated prognosis of more than 6 months according to the primary oncologist * Age greater than 21 years * Persistent pain with an average pain rating of 4 or greater on an 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS) from 0-10 where 10 is considered the most severe. * Pain has persisted for at least 2 weeks * Pain is due to cancer or sequelae of cancer treatment

Exclusion criteria

* Primary pain syndrome is sensory peripheral neuropathy * Patient is taking more than 200 morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) per day on average, at the time of recruitment. * Currently cared for by interventional pain management specialist * Receipt of prior pain intervention (e.g. celiac neurolysis) * Bleeding diathesis, uncontrollable infection, or other contra-indications to pain interventions * History of opioid misuse disorder * Inability to speak English * Cognitive impairment or any other disorder that would impede study participation and survey completion * If patients are unable to complete the baseline survey, they will no longer be considered eligible for the study; this will serve as an indication of barriers to participation that would make them unable to comply with study procedures.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Feasibility - Pain Consultation4 WeeksFeasibility will be measured by the percentage of patients that have an interventional pain consultation within 4 weeks, with a threshold for determining feasibility of at least 80% of participants.
Feasibility - Interventional Pain Procedure Rate4 MonthsFeasibility will be measured by the percentage of patients who ultimately receive at least one interventional pain procedure, with a threshold for determining feasibility of at least 50% of participants.
Acceptability - Satisfaction Ratings4 MonthsAcceptability will be measured by the percentage of patients satisfied with their interventional pain management care, with a threshold of at least 80% of patients rating the quality of care received at the interventional pain management clinic at a 7 or above on a 0-10 scale (adapted from HCAHPS; 0 being the worst clinic possible, 10 being the best clinic possible). For participants with missing data at 4-months, we imputed their responses at 2-months.

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Pain Management Strategies
Participants will receive early referral to an anesthesia-trained interventional pain management specialist evaluated for pain management strategies. Participants will complete surveys every 2 months and will have the option of tracking their pain at home using a secure smartphone application. Participants will be followed on the study for 4 months. Early Referral: Directing a patient for a pain specialist consult earlier than standardly occurs. Pain Management Strategies: Specialized plan with procedures to ease pain
30
Total30

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicPain Management Strategies
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
5 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
25 Participants
Age, Continuous59.5 years
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Hispanic or Latino
1 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Not Hispanic or Latino
29 Participants
Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
1 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
28 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
15 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
15 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
1 / 30
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 30
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 30

Outcome results

Primary

Acceptability - Satisfaction Ratings

Acceptability will be measured by the percentage of patients satisfied with their interventional pain management care, with a threshold of at least 80% of patients rating the quality of care received at the interventional pain management clinic at a 7 or above on a 0-10 scale (adapted from HCAHPS; 0 being the worst clinic possible, 10 being the best clinic possible). For participants with missing data at 4-months, we imputed their responses at 2-months.

Time frame: 4 Months

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Intervention ArmAcceptability - Satisfaction Ratings15 Participants
Primary

Feasibility - Interventional Pain Procedure Rate

Feasibility will be measured by the percentage of patients who ultimately receive at least one interventional pain procedure, with a threshold for determining feasibility of at least 50% of participants.

Time frame: 4 Months

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Intervention ArmFeasibility - Interventional Pain Procedure Rate18 Participants
Primary

Feasibility - Pain Consultation

Feasibility will be measured by the percentage of patients that have an interventional pain consultation within 4 weeks, with a threshold for determining feasibility of at least 80% of participants.

Time frame: 4 Weeks

ArmMeasureValue (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS)
Intervention ArmFeasibility - Pain Consultation29 Participants

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 6, 2026