• Ruey Kuen Hsieh.
• Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
• J Formos Med Assoc. 2005 Dec 1;104(12):913-9.

Background And PurposeUnder-treatment of cancer pain remains a common problem in Taiwan. Prior studies were mainly in hospitalized patients and limited to one or a few centers. This prospective, multicenter, patient-focused survey assessed the prevalence, severity and management of cancer pain in oncology clinic outpatients. Analgesic use and patient satisfaction with analgesic therapy were also evaluated.MethodsA total of 480 Taiwanese patients receiving outpatient treatment at 15 different outpatient clinics were included in this study. There were 263 males and 217 females with a mean age of 62.13 years. Patients completed a 4-question survey about the presence or absence of pain, pain severity, analgesic therapy, and satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the degree of analgesia.ResultsPain was reported by 257 patients (54%). Severe pain was reported by 35% and moderate pain by 35.4% of patients. Only 149 of the patients who reported pain (58%) were receiving analgesic medication, with a roughly equivalent number of males and females. Most (95 of 149, 64%) reported being satisfied or very satisfied with pain control although this percentage was higher among males than females (68.23% vs 57.8%). Major variation in the results was noted among study centers.ConclusionsThe results of this survey of Taiwanese outpatients with cancer confirm that cancer pain is under-treated in oncology clinics in Taiwan. A major goal of cancer management is to achieve high rates of patient satisfaction and compliance with treatment which maintains or improves quality of life.

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