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18 February 2021

Gathering insights from patients with cancer-related neuropathic pain

Cancer-related neuropathic pain, online survey

Neuropathic pain is a common long-term effect of cancer and its treatment– and can have a big impact on patients’ lives. A new online survey is now gathering patients’ perspectives, giving them a voice and seeking to gain a deeper understanding of their needs.

Current cancer treatments are more promising than ever. As a result, patients with cancer live longer and the number of cancer survivors have increased significantly. This is a trend that makes us hopeful. Unfortunately however, many of the survivors are living with cancer-related neuropathic pain. This common condition can be caused by treatments like chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery – and it has a significantly negative impact on patients’ lives.¹ That’s why Grünenthal is collaborating with partners from across the healthcare sector to conduct an online survey that aims to give patients with cancer-related neuropathy a voice.

“This survey provides us, people surviving cancer who suffer from neuropathic pain, the possibility to express our views and let our voices heard so the understanding of our condition will improve”

Joop van Griensven, President of Pain Alliance Europe

The survey was designed by a multi-disciplinary team of representatives from patient organisations, as well as oncologists, pain specialists and nurses. It will gather insights from patients above 18 years of age who have a diagnosis of cancer-related neuropathic pain. The survey was launched on 10 February and will remain open to participants in 13 European countries until the end of March. The results will then be made available in May 2021. Key findings from the survey will form the basis for discussions among healthcare professionals and policymakers, with the aim of developing recommendations on how to improve the way cancer-related neuropathic pain is managed.

The survey takes around 15 minutes to complete. You can access it here: http://bit.ly/PatientsVoiceinCRPN
Cancer is one of the European Union’s research and innovation missions. These missions are a key element of the Horizon Europe framework programme, and aim to solve some of the greatest challenges facing the world. In this context, the European Commission presented its Beating EU Cancer Plan on 4 February 2021 with the objective of building more effective, accessible and resilient health systems for cancer. The involvement of Grünenthal in the online cancer-related neuropathic pain questionnaire is an additional step in its CHANGE PAIN initiative. This initiative aims to raise awareness of the unmet needs in pain management and to support pain education with the goal to improve outcomes for patients. By giving patients a voice and integrating their perspectives into the research and development process, we at Grünenthal aim to keep moving closer towards our vision of a world free of pain.

Find more information about the survey here.

¹ Edwards HL, Mulvey MR, Bennett MI. Cancer-Related Neuropathic Pain. Cancers 2019;11.

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