Management of pain associated with spinal tumor.

ABSTRACT

Metastatic spinal disease is common in cancer patients, and it is a frequent source of pain and disability. Expert management of the patient's pain and neurologic dysfunction is required. Neurosurgical advances have afforded the patient the opportunity to have improved symptom management and improved quality-of-life outcomes. Patients and their families are best served by the provision of supportive care by specialty pain medicine and palliative care services (especially neurology based) working with the primary neurosurgical team in an integrated model.