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JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2000 92(11):868-870; doi:10.1093/jnci/92.11.868
© 2000 by Oxford University Press
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Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 92, No. 11, 868-870, June 7, 2000
© 2000 Oxford University Press

NEWS

Causes of Pain Investigated at Molecular Level

Steve Benowitz

Molecular biologists, physiologists, and anesthesiologists are leading a quiet revolution in understanding an all-too-common, often-overlooked enemy that millions—including cancer patients—know too well: chronic pain.

Researchers have spent the past two decades unearthing receptors, channels, and molecules involved in different types of pain, attempting to root out biochemical mechanisms while inching ever closer to designing drugs to block them.

Even though research is promising, many contend that in practice the chronic pain problem is vastly underappreciated. "Pain can’t be seen and you can’t measure it—it’s entirely subjective," said Allan Basbaum, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Anatomy at the University of California at San Francisco. He and many others see chronic pain as a disease and lament what they perceive as a lack of attention by oncologists.



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Types of Pain

Neurochemical Changes Abound

New Drugs, New Techniques


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