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Improving the control of cancer-related pain (CRP) is a clinical and ethical imperative. Clinical research has documented improved treatment tolerance and survival rates among patients with cancer who have effective pain control. Barriers to CRP control include inadequate patient and physician education. Meta-analyses of patient education studies correlate improvements in CRP control with improved communications with health care providers and the implementation of strategies that assist with adherence to medication schedules. These strategies build patient confidence, allowing better self-management of pain and reduced psychological consequences. For physicians, ample educational resources exist in CRP management. However, in both the inpatient and outpatient settings, compliance with NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Adult Cancer Pain continues to be less than 70%, and more than one-third of patients continue to receive inadequate doses of analgesics. Patient-centered outcomes have become an integral end point in health policy, and the nation’s medical training, research, and delivery systems are transforming to a value-based accreditation and reimbursement system. Pain control is a significant patient-centered outcome in cancer care, because pain adversely impacts function and affects all domains of quality of life. Agreement is clear on the value of health care interventions that relieve suffering from cancer pain and restore personal dignity.

Pain is a common symptom associated with cancer and its treatment. Pain management is an important aspect of oncologic care, and unrelieved pain significantly comprises overall quality of life. These NCCN Guidelines list the principles of management and acknowledge the range of complex decisions faced in the management oncologic pain. In addition to pain assessment techniques, these guidelines provide principles of use, dosing, management of adverse effects, and safe handling procedures of pharmacologic therapies and discuss a multidisciplinary approach for the management of cancer pain.