What to do if bone cancer causes severe pain

What should I do if the pain from bone cancer is very severe? Bone tumors are tumors that occur in bones or their appendages. They can be benign or malignant. The early symptoms of bone tumors are relatively mild in the early stages. As the disease progresses, the pain may gradually worsen. Bone tumors can be regarded as the most serious type of orthopedic disease. Bone tumors are chronic diseases that cause great pain to patients. Patients need to endure the pain caused by bone tumors for a long time. The severe pain affects the lives of bone tumor patients in many aspects. So, what should I do if the pain from bone cancer is very severe?

1. Opioids

Opioids are a type of analgesic commonly used in clinical practice and are also the basis for analgesic treatment of bone tumors. They mainly include codeine, dihydrocodeine, hydromorphone, oxycodone, methadone, morphine, fentanyl, pethidine, etc. However, the therapeutic dose of opioids is large, and long-term use can cause side effects such as drowsiness, constipation, tolerance, and addiction.

2. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

The new cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) specific inhibitor has anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic effects. In the animal model of bone tumor pain, short-term use of this drug can slightly relieve severe bone pain, and long-term use can also reduce the destructive effects of tumor tissue and osteoclasts.

3. Bisphosphonates

Bisphosphonates were originally used to treat hypercalcemia caused by malignant tumors. These drugs can directly inhibit osteoclast activity and increase the pH value of the local microenvironment of tumor bone, thereby avoiding the activation of acid-sensitive ion channels. When analgesics and radiotherapy are not effective in treating bone tumor pain, bisphosphonates can be considered.

4. Osteoprotegerin (OPG)

Osteoprotegerin is a drug under development that binds and blocks RANK-L. Normally, RANK-L binds to CSF-1, stimulating the formation of osteoclasts and the activation of mature osteoclasts. OPG inhibits the activation of osteoclasts by RANK-L, thereby inhibiting bone destruction. It reduces the pain that occurs as a result, but cannot completely eliminate pain behavior and neurochemical changes.

As the disease worsens, the pain of bone tumor patients is very unbearable, which will bring great pain to patients. How to relieve the pain of bone tumor patients? The several drugs introduced above hope to help you. These drugs are very helpful in relieving the pain of bone tumor patients. However, bone tumor patients should not take drugs blindly by themselves. They should take drugs scientifically under the guidance of professional doctors.