Intractable Neck Pain in an Oncologic Palliative Care Setting: Is Cancer Always the Answer?

Refractory pain is a common manifestation in an oncologic palliative care setting and represents a major challenge for health care professionals involved in care provision. The underlying neoplasm and its dissemination are the foremost pathophysiologic mechanism for the development of pain in patients with advanced cancer. Nonetheless, other etiologies such as trauma and infections need to be considered by clinicians in this particular care setting.

Spontaneous Osteonecrosis of the Jaw During Bisphosphonate Therapy: An Unusual Etiology of the Numb Chin Syndrome.

The numb chin syndrome is a rare manifestation of intractable pain in the palliative care setting and represents a major therapeutic challenge. The reported etiologies of the numb chin syndrome include trauma, infections, immune-mediated systemic conditions, and malignancy, both through local infiltration or compression of the inferior alveolar nerve sheath. The authors present the case of a patient with long-standing multiple myeloma, suffering from numb chin syndrome caused by a spontaneous osteonecrosis of the jaw after bisphosphonate therapy.

Serum cytokeratin fragment 21.1 (CYFRA 21.1) as tumour marker for breast cancer: comparison with carbohydrate antigen 15.3 (CA 15.3) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).

Serum carbohydrate antigen 15.3 (CA 15.3) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) are currently employed in clinical practice as markers for breast cancer, particularly in the follow-up and therapy monitoring.