Effectiveness of a Pain Neuroscience Education Program in Adults With Cancer Pain

IASP defines "pain" as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with or resembling that associated with actual or potential tissue damage". In some patients, pain is one of the reasons they initially consult a doctor and will be strongly related to cancer itself, is connected to receiving the cancer diagnosis, and therefore may become an uncertain threat of disease recurrence in cancer survivors. Neuropathic pain is the most prevalent type of pain, but a mixed type of pain is also common, reflecting the complexity of the pain experience. There is increasing evidence in oncology that quality of life and survival are linked to early and effective palliative care, including pain management. Although improvements have been seen, undertreatment of pain remains a problem in a significant subset of cancer patients. Regarding the interventional options in cancer pain, multiple possibilities range from pharmacological modulation, the use of modalities or physical means, as well as the practice of physical exercise as a mechanism of pain modulation, which has been established according to the background grade of recommendation. Regarding education in neuroscience, this has gained momentum in chronic pain since previous interventions have generated recommendations to include neurocognitive interventions in pain processes. Therefore, it seeks to determine the effectiveness of a neuroscience education program compared to conventional treatment in adults with cancer pain in biopsychosocial variables.