Headache.

Although analgetic treatment, based on modifications of the three-step approach recommended by the WHO, remains the cornerstone of cancer pain control, other treatment options are also needed to improve pain relief in severe cases. The article consists in a discussion of such treatment alternatives, a guiding principle being that, where causal treatment is possible, symptomatic effects are likely to be more manifest and more enduring than if treatment is confined to symptom management. The tumour biological basis of the analgesic or anti-inflammatory potential of steroids, palliative radiotherapy, bisphosphonates, and even such modalities as hormonal manipulation in metastatic prostate cancer, or chemotherapy are also discussed, as are calcitonin and stabilising orthopaedic measures.

Analgesics↗