Pain therapy in patients with incurable tumors of the head and neck

The treatment of pain in patients with terminal cancer of the head and neck is discussed. The treatment must be tailored to the individual patient and should use oral agents if possible. The basic medication consists of peripherally acting analgesics; if the results are inadequate, these must be combined with centrally acting agents. Neuroleptics are important adjuvant analgesics, which have proved to be particularly valuable for more severe pain in head and neck cancer. This treatment can be carried out either in hospital or in domiciliary practice.