Mundipharma, a multinational pharmaceutical leader in pain management, will present the abstract of its first and largest cross-sectional evaluation of patients' perspectives on cancer pain management at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Chicago, Illinois, from 29 May to 2 June 2015.
The Mundipharma-sponsored ACHEON study poster, summarizing data collected from 1,190 patients across 10 Asian countries found a significant impact of cancer pain on a patient's quality of life, employment and self-reliance, highlighting the need to develop more effective management practices for cancer pain that will require collaborative efforts from institutional, social and regulatory organisations.
92 per cent of patients reported that their pain affected activities of daily living
86 per cent said it affected their sleeping patterns
87 per cent reported impacts to their concentration and focus levels
67 per cent saw an overreliance on other people
Dr. Jin Seok Ahn - Medical Oncologist, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea, commented: "Cancer-related pain is complex and debilitating condition that creates a significant socioeconomic burden for patients across Asia. The data from the ACHEON survey confirms the need for collaboration in order to make effective and efficient pain management available in order to help patients enhance their quality of life."
53 per cent of respondents attributed their pain from cancer, while 18 per cent related it back to cancer-related therapy. Unfortunately, 40 per cent of patients have reported that their pain treatment was inadequate to control their pain on at least one occasion in the past.
Of the 1,059 patients receiving treatments for their cancer pain, only 286 of these patients were receiving opioids. 84 per cent of patients had never been referred to a pain clinic and only half of the patients had had their pain assessed according to a scale and only 6 per cent had been treated by pain specialists.
Raman Singh, President, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa, commented: "The ACHEON survey results have confirmed our findings in relation to the gaps between the patient's access to accurate treatment and the physician's pain management practice from an Asian perspective."
"We are continuously invested in stakeholder education through diverse informational programs, including our regional Pain Forums, Pain Focus website, an educational online portal for healthcare professionals and patients, as well as our Pain Assessment via Pain Scale initiatives, and we look forward to increasing upon our initiatives throughout Asia."
