Types of Pain

Nociceptive or somatic pain results from direct stimulation of nociceptive, intact, afferent nerve endings. This type of pain is usually described as "dull", "sharp" and/or "aching" or a combination of these, and the intensity of the pain varies from mild to severe. In general, somatic pain can be well controlled if the cause of the stimulation can be removed or treated; for example, with surgery, chemotherapy or analgesics.

Neuropathic pain is caused by nervous system dysfunction, rather than stimulation of intact, afferent nerve endings. It is characterized by "burning", "shooting" and "tingling" pain, associated with allodynia, hyperpathia, paresthesias and dysesthesias. The most frequent causes of neuropathic pain in cancer patients are tumour- or treatment-related nerve damage, acute herpes zoster, post-herpetic neuralgia and phantom limb pain. Compared with nociceptive pain, neuropathic pain usually requires more complex pharmacotherapy.