Pain therapy in palliative medicine

In Germany, as in all industrial nations,there has been an increase in the number of cases of cancer and in cancer-related mortality. According to the German Federal Bureau of Statistics, in 1998 nearly 213,000 persons died d ue to malignant cancer. Cancer patients generally have physical and psychol ogical dysfunction that may in turn cause a significant reduction in qualit y of life if treatment is performed insufficiently or not at all. Pain is t he dominant symptom and can have serious effects on the patient and his or her family. Although various organizations have published treatment plans f or adequate pain therapy, in many cases they are not adequately applied by physicians. This work therefore offers a comprehensive review of pain thera py as an essential component of palliative medicine.