Bulletin du cancer
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Careful assessment is a necessary preliminary to treatment; pain may be caused by a variety of mechanisms or associated with a non-malignant condition. In the majority of patients treatment should be planned on a multimodality basis. The fact that pain is a somato-psychic phenomenon must not be forgotten. ⋯ When used as described, escalation of dose (tolerance) is not a practical problem. Physical dependence does not prevent the downward adjustment of dose should this become feasible as a result of non-drug intervention. Psychological dependence (addiction) does not occur if the patient is closely supervised and given adequate emotional support.