UCSF

ABSTRACT

Because older age is associated with increased cancer risk, and the population is aging at an exponential rate, the number of older oncology patients is increasing. Pain is one of the most common symptoms associated with cancer and its treatment. However, little information is

available on age differences in the occurrence and characteristics of pain in oncology patients. The purposes of this study, in a sample of oncology outpatients receiving CTX (n = 671) and who were experiencing cancer pain (n = 248), noncancer pain (n = 144), or both cancer and noncancer pain (n = 279), were to evaluate for differences in demographic, clinical, and pain

characteristics between younger (i.e., <65 years) and older (>65 years) patients. Among the three pain groups, significant differences in occurrence rates were found between the younger and older groups (p <.0001). Post hoc contrasts demonstrated the following between group age-related differences: only cancer pain (41.6% versus 23.2%; p <.0001), only noncancer pain (15.7% versus 38.7%; p <.0001), and both cancer and noncancer pain (42.7% versus 38.1%; p = 0.320; <65 years versus >65 years, respectively). However, when age differences in pain characteristics were compared for each pain type, no major differences were identified. Findings from this study suggest that suggest that all oncology outpatients warrant comprehensive assessments of cancer and noncancer pain. In addition, the under treatment of pain remains a significant clinical problem. Regardless of the patient’s age, clinicians need to tailor their pain

treatments based on the type of pain.