Association of Interleukin-6 and Other Cytokines with Self-Reported Pain in Prostate Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.

Background: Pain is a common and dose-limiting side effect of many potentially curative cancer chemotherapeutic agents. This chemotherapy-induced pain (CIP) affects the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors and hampers the optimal clinical management of chemotherapy in cancer patients. The underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown, but changes in levels of cytokines/chemokines may contribute to the pathophysiology of CIP.