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Pediatric Cancer Pain Management

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Essentials of Interventional Cancer Pain Management

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Abstract

Pain in pediatric oncology patients can be secondary to the underlying tumor, due to treatment-related effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, or procedure-related. Most pediatric oncology patients can be appropriately treated without the need for interventional pain management using nonopioid and opioid agents. The necessity of interventional measures has mainly been found in patients with solid tumors with metastases to the spinal nerve roots, nerve plexus, or large peripheral nerves. Here we discuss developmental aspects in the assessment and management of pediatric cancer pain, causes of treatment-related pain, and management strategies for refractory pain that is not well-controlled with high-dose opioid therapy both during treatment and for end-stage disease. Practitioners must be aware of modalities including anesthetic agents, interventional procedures, complementary and alternative therapies, and end-of-life measures including palliative radiation and sedation for which there is an evidence basis in pediatric oncology patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, Oakland, CA, USA

    Stephen L. Long

  2. Department of Hematology/Oncology, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, Oakland, CA, USA

    Anurag K. Agrawal

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  1. Stephen L. Long
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  2. Anurag K. Agrawal
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Correspondence to Anurag K. Agrawal .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Amitabh Gulati

  2. Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Vinay Puttanniah

  3. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Brian M. Bruel

  4. Midwest Neuroscience Institute, Center for the Relief of Pain, Kansas City, MO, USA

    William S. Rosenberg

  5. Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Joseph C. Hung

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Long, S.L., Agrawal, A.K. (2019). Pediatric Cancer Pain Management. In: Gulati, A., Puttanniah, V., Bruel, B., Rosenberg, W., Hung, J. (eds) Essentials of Interventional Cancer Pain Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99684-4_13

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