Indications for intrathecal therapy in cancer patients

An essential component of cancer treatment and management is effective pain control, which is vital to the preservation of functioning, quality of life, and potentially survival time. Unfortunately, not all patients with chronic cancer-related pain can be controlled with comprehensive medical management and it is important to consider other modalities of treatment, including intrathecal (IT) therapy for these patients. The indications for IT therapy in patients suffering from chronic pain resulting from cancer or the treatment of cancer are explored here. Generally, IT therapy is indicated for patients with greater than 3 months of life expectancy who have continuing neuropathic and/or somatic/visceral pain despite an optimized pharmacologic treatment regimen or who experience intolerable side effects from medications. In these refractory patients, IT therapy can provide targeted, effective analgesia with fewer adverse effects, leading to quality-of-life--enhancing pain relief.

Keywords:  Intrathecal therapy , Cancer pain