Principles & Practice of Pain Medicine > Part V. Pain Syndromes > E. Pediatric and Geriatric Pain > Chapter 55. Cancer Pain and Palliative Care in Children Christine D. Greco and Charles B. Berde

Cancer Pain and Palliative Care in Children: Introduction

"The prognosis of cancer in children has improved dramatically over the past 40 years. Unlike many adult cancers, pediatric malignancies are often responsive to initial aggressive induction chemotherapy. The most common childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), was an almost uniformly fatal disease in the early 1950s. Long-term survival rates in children with ALL now exceed 70%. Children with cancer, however, frequently experience a variety of acute and chronic pains, which can be a result of cancer treatment or of the tumor itself.¹ The treatment of cancer pain in children should involve a multidimensional approach that relies not only on medications for pain and symptom management, but also on cognitive-behavioral interventions and other nonpharmacologic therapies. This approach provides optimal pain control and addresses patients' complex emotional needs related to grief and sense of loss...."