Encountering a Neglected Area of a Healthcare System: A Decade of Improvement in Cancer Pain Clinical Practice in Iran

BACKGROUND With the increase in the prevalence of cancer, cancer-related issues also deserve more attention especially in developing countries where there is already limited access to high-quality healthcare. Cancer-related pain, the most common and the most annoying one, is not only a symptom but also an important subspecialty and its management is still challenging. OBJECTIVES To assess the level of pain and cancer pain knowledge in Iran in comparison with the whole world. MATERIALS AND METHOD A search of the literature including papers published in PubMed before March 2016 was carried out. RESULTS There have been an increasing number of publications on pain since 1842 and a growing number of publications on cancer pain since 1929. There has also been remarkable growth in our understanding of cancer pain, particularly since 2010. More than one-third of studies on pain and cancer-related pain were published after 2010. CONCLUSION There is a need to be more inventive with the management of cancer-related issues, especially pain in developing countries, to maximize the quality and quantity of healthcare delivery to cancer-stricken patients. It seems that non-governmental organizations like MAHAK can play a significant role in this goal.