The relationship between pain, analgesics and survival in patients with advanced cancer; a secondary data analysis of the international European palliative care Cancer symptom study.

Purpose: Opioids reduce cancer-related pain but an association with shorter survival is variably reported.

Aim: To investigate the relationship between pain, analgesics, cancer and survival within the European Palliative Care Cancer Symptom (EPCCS) study to help inform clinical decision making.

Methods: Secondary analysis of the international prospective, longitudinal EPCCS study which included 1739 adults with advanced, incurable cancer receiving palliative care.

Clinical expert guidelines for the management of cough in lung cancer: report of a UK task group on cough.

Background: Cough is a common and distressing symptom in lung cancer patients. The clinical management of cough in lung cancer patients is suboptimal with limited high quality research evidence available. The aim of the present paper is to present a clinical guideline developed in the UK through scrutiny of the literature and expert opinion, in order to aid decision making in clinicians and highlight good practice.

Managing the symptoms of neuropathic pain: an exploration of patients' experiences.

The debilitating effects of chronic neuropathic pain on everyday life are considerable, but little is known about how individual sufferers manage these effects. Virtually nothing is known about what patients prefer, what measures they take themselves and when, or in what combinations. The aim of this study was to explore patients' reports of how they managed their neuropathic pain symptoms.