Causes and mechanisms of severe pain in patients caused by bone cancer

Pain is the most prominent symptom of bone cancer patients, especially those with rapidly growing tumors. It starts as intermittent, mild pain, and then develops into persistent severe pain, night pain, and tenderness and percussion pain. The tumor is locally swollen, the skin is dark red, tense and shiny, and patients often have symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, malnutrition, and anemia.

The causes of bone cancer pain are mainly the following four aspects: ① Pain caused directly by the tumor, which is caused by direct infiltration and compression of cancer cells; ② Pain caused indirectly by the tumor, such as local secondary infection; ③ Pain caused by anti-cancer treatment, including aggravated bone pain in some patients in the early stage of radiotherapy and pain after surgery; ④ Pain caused by other factors such as psychological factors.

The mechanism of bone cancer pain is mainly the following two aspects: ① Cancer cells infiltrate or invade blood vessels, nerves, bone tissue, soft tissue, internal organs or lymphatic vessels, compressing or irritating them, thereby causing pain; ② Some chemical pain-causing substances produced during the growth of tumor cells cause pain.