University of Brescia - Medical Oncology Department, ASST Spedali Civili Brescia, Piazzale Spedali Civili 1, Brescia, Italy.
Medical Oncology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Sant'Andrea, Via di Grottarossa 1035-39, 00189, Rome, Italy.
Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2019 Jun;138:51-59. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2019.04.001. Epub 2019 Apr 5.
Head and neck cancer (HNC) can have a devastating impact on patient's lives as both disease and treatment may affect the ability to speak, swallow and breathe. These conditions limit the oral intake of food and drugs, reduce social functioning and impact on patient's quality of life. Up to 80% of patients suffering from HNC have pain due to the spread of the primary tumor, because of consequences of surgery, or by developing oral mucositis, dysphagia or neuropathy as toxic side effects of radiotherapy, chemotherapy or both. All healthcare professionals caring for HNC patients should assess palliative and supportive care needs in initial treatment planning and throughout the disease, with awareness when specialist palliative care expertise is needed. This paper focuses on assessment, characterizations and clinical management of pain in advanced HNC patients undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, also underlining the importance of symptom assessment in HNC survivors and the need of clinical research in this field.
头颈部癌症（HNC）会对患者的生活造成严重影响，因为疾病和治疗都可能影响说话、吞咽和呼吸能力。这些情况限制了食物和药物的口服摄入，降低了社会功能并影响了患者的生活质量。多达 80%的 HNC 患者因原发肿瘤的扩散、手术的后果或因放射性治疗、化学疗法或两者的毒性副作用导致口腔粘膜炎、吞咽困难或神经病变而出现疼痛。所有照顾 HNC 患者的医护人员都应该在初始治疗计划和整个疾病过程中评估姑息治疗和支持性护理需求，并在需要时意识到需要专门的姑息治疗专业知识。本文重点关注接受手术、化疗和放疗的晚期 HNC 患者的疼痛评估、特征和临床管理，同时强调了在 HNC 幸存者中进行症状评估的重要性以及该领域临床研究的必要性。
