Background
It has been reported that in 62.5% of cases of incurable cancer pain, the complaint is due to myofascial pain syndrome. Trigger point injections using dibucaine hydrochloride help patients with such cancer pain. This study evaluated the efficacy of trigger point injections for alleviating pain in patients with advanced cancer.
Methods
Twenty patients with advanced cancer who had a life expectancy of 6 months or less and had been diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome were treated with trigger point injections. Prior to treatment, a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to measure the resting pain level and discomfort upon application of pressure on the site of pain. These values were compared with last treatment measurements.
Results
The mean pre-treatment VAS scores for pain at rest and upon application of pressure on the pain site were 7.3 and 9.0, respectively. These scores decreased significantly to 1.95 and 3.2, respectively, after the treatment (P<0.05).
Conclusion
Trigger point injection is an alternative and effective pain control modality for advanced cancer patients with myofascial pain syndrome.

Citations

• Lidocaine Needling in Myofascial Pain Syndrome for Palliative Oncologic Care: A Randomized Clinical Study
  Laís Araujo dos Santos-Vilar, Isabella Fioravante Freitas-Passos, Beatriz Menin Rossi, Fernando Gioppo Blauth, Victor Carvalho Brito Pontes, Julio César Moriguti, Marcelo Riberto, Nereida Kilza da Costa Lima
  Journal of Palliative Medicine.2024; 27(7): 888.     CrossRef
• Myofascial pain syndrome in patients with cancer: a narrative review
  Naruaki Kawasaki, Hiroto Ishiki, Sayaka Arakawa, Eriko Satomi, Hiromichi Matsuoka, Hideaki Hasuo
  BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.2024; : spcare-2024-005064.     CrossRef
• Development of evidence-based indicators for the detection of drug-related problems among ovarian cancer patients
  Kala Bahadur Rawal, Uday Venkat Mateti, Vijith Shetty, Chakrakodi Shashidhara Shastry, Mazhuvancherry Kesavan Unnikrishnan, Shraddha Shetty, Aparna Rajesh
  Frontiers in Pharmacology.2023;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Role of Trigger Point Injection in the Management of Proximal Tensor Fascia Lata Myofascial Trigger Point in a Stage 4 Breast Cancer Patient
  Sanjay Kumar, Pratibha Singh, Anil Agarwal, Prashant Kumar Singh
  Indian Journal of Pain.2023; 37(Suppl 1): S83.     CrossRef
• Prevalence of Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Efficacy of Trigger Point Injection in Patients with Incurable Cancer: A Multicenter, Prospective Observational Study (MyCar Study)
  Hiroto Ishiki, Hideaki Hasuo, Yoshinobu Matsuda, Hiromichi Matsuoka, Shuji Hiramoto, Masaki Higuchi, Kohei Yoshida, Akihiro Tokoro, Yutaka Hatano, Tetsuo Hori, Junya Kinkawa, Masanori Nojima
  Pain Medicine.2022; 23(7): 1259.     CrossRef
• Preliminary evidence of safety and effectiveness of Loxoprofen Sodium Cataplasm combined with physiotherapy for myofascial pain syndrome treatment: A randomized controlled pilot clinical trial
  Xuewen Zhou, Xuelian Li, Ziyang Wang, Dong Huang
  Frontiers in Neurology.2022;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Interventional Therapies for Pain in Cancer Patients: a Narrative Review
  David Hao, Shawn Sidharthan, Juan Cotte, Mary Decker, Mariam Salisu-Orhurhu, Dare Olatoye, Jay Karri, Jonathan M. Hagedorn, Peju Adekoya, Charles Odonkor, Amitabh Gulati, Vwaire Orhurhu
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Background
: Two representative groups of family physicians and oncologists were surveyed concerning their knowledge and attitudes toward cancer pain management (CPM).

Methods : A questionnaire, designed to assess knowledge (13 items) and attitudes (6 items) toward CPM, was sent to 2,200 members of Korean Association of Family Medicine and 800 members of Korean Cancer Association.

Results : Three hundred and eighty eight family physicians (17.6%) and one hundred and forty seven oncologists (18.4%) responded and completed the questionnaire. They had inadequate knowledge toward CPM, especially, chance of respiratory depression, tolerance to adverse effect, ceiling effect, risk of addiction, and use of adjuvants. Most of the physicians had positive attitude toward importance of CPM, best judge of pain severity, and priority of CPM but had negative attitude toward concerns about potential problem of addiction and earlier prescription of maximum dose of opioid. Family physicians displayed more lack of knowledge about CPM in 9 of 13 items and more negative attitudes toward 4 of 6 items. Adjustment for demographic characteristics and experiences in cancer patients with pain showed that while family physicians had poor knowledge of tolerance to confusion, they had more adequate knowledge on the effect of antidepressant and had positive attitude towards best judge of pain severity and priority of CPM. Poor knowledge about CPM was rated by 66.3% of physicians as the most important barrier to adequate CPM.

Conclusion : These findings that most of the physicians had poor knowledge and negative view toward CPM suggest a continuous need for comprehensive education program focused on CPM for physicians.