HOUSTON, USA: Survival outcomes in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck vary by extent of disease, behavioral factors, and socio-economic factors. Now, researchers from the U.S. have found that pain intensity might be an independent predictor of survival in this population. In a study of 2,340 patients, the five-year survival rate varied significantly by pain.

In order to assess the extent to which pretreatment pain influences survival, participants in the study were asked to rate their pain at initial presentation to a cancer center. According to the researchers, severe pain was most prevalent among those with oral cancer (20 percent).

Over the course of the study, the researchers observed that overall five-year survival varied by pain. Among the patients with oral cancer, 52 percent of those without severe pretreatment pain were still alive after five years, while only 31 percent of those who suffered from severe pain were still alive. Similar results were found for patients with pharyngeal cancer (53 percent compared with 33 percent). 

The researchers concluded that pretreatment pain severity in head and neck cancer patients is an independent prognostic factor for survival. Hence, pain reported prior to treatment should be considered in understanding survival outcomes, and patients with severe pain at diagnosis should be closely monitored and promptly treated for symptoms, they said. 

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 42,400 new cases of oral cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2014 and about 8,400 people will die of the disease. 

The study, titled "Survival Patterns in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: Pain as an Independent Prognostic Factor for Survival," was published in the October issue of the Journal of Pain. It was conducted at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.