Interventionelle Radiologietechniken zur Symptomlinderung bei Schmerzen

Cancer patients report different types of pain associated with the tumor burden. Opioid analgesia and radiotherapy often lead to only partial pain relief.

The intention of this article is to provide an overview and details of modern interventional techniques used for cancer pain management and local control in palliative oncology, and to stress the advantage of tailored approaches applying different techniques or their combinations in different tumor entities and locations.

Minimally invasive interventional techniques for pain management and mobility improvement in palliative oncology patients include percutaneous methods such as ablation, transarterial embolization, neurolysis, and augmentations in the spine and peripheral skeleton. Direct percutaneous neurolysis provides regional anesthesia, whilst ablation and transarterial embolization act directly on the tumor.

Image-guided ablation techniques are becoming less and less invasive. Their efficiency is increasing and the rates of adverse events and complications are decreasing. Therefore, these techniques are becoming increasingly relevant in palliative medicine and should be integrated into interdisciplinary patient care pathways for tumor control and palliative pain management to improve outcomes and quality of life for palliative patients in the final phase of life.