Journal of Pain Research (Feb 2024)
Measurement of the Association of Pain with Clinical Characteristics in Oral Cancer Patients at Diagnosis and Prior to Cancer Treatment
Abstract
Caroline M Sawicki,1 Malvin N Janal,2 Sung Hye Gonzalez,3 Angie K Wu,3 Brian L Schmidt,3– 5,* Donna G Albertson3– 5,* 1Department of Pediatric Dentistry, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA; 2Department of Epidemiology & Health Promotion New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA; 3NYU Dentistry Translational Research Center, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA; 4Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA; 5NYU Pain Research Center, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Donna G Albertson, NYU Dentistry Translational Research Center, New York University College of Dentistry, 421 First Avenue, Room 233W, New York, NY, 10010, USA, Tel +1 212-998-9396, Fax +1 212-995-4843, Email [email protected]: Oral cancer patients suffer pain at the site of the cancer, which degrades quality of life (QoL). The University of California San Francisco Oral Cancer Pain Questionnaire (UCSFOCPQ), the only validated instrument specifically designed for measuring oral cancer pain, measures the intensity and nature of pain and the level of functional restriction due to pain.Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare pain reported by untreated oral cancer patients on the UCSFOCPQ with pain they reported on the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), an instrument widely used to evaluate cancer and non-cancer pain.Patients and Methods: The correlation between pain measured by the two instruments and clinical characteristics were analyzed. Thirty newly diagnosed oral cancer patients completed the UCSFOCPQ and the BPI.Results: Pain severity measurements made by the UCSFOCPQ and BPI were concordant; however, the widely used BPI average pain over 24 hours score appeared less sensitive to detect association of oral cancer pain with clinical characteristics of patients prior to treatment (nodal status, depth of invasion, DOI). A BPI average score that includes responses to questions that measure both pain severity and interference with function performs similarly to the UCSFOCPQ in detection of associations with nodal status, pathologic T stage (pT stage), stage and depth of invasion (DOI).Conclusion: Pain assessment instruments that measure sensory and interference dimensions of oral cancer pain correlate with biologic features and clinical behavior.Keywords: pretreatment oral cancer pain, University of California San Francisco Oral Cancer Pain Questionnaire, Brief Pain Inventory, pain severity, pain interference with functioning
