Introduction
Cancer-related pain, stemming from cancer and/or its treatments, is a widely reported symptom, with prevalence estimates ranging from 23 to 55% (Snijders et al., 2022). Severity and chronicity vary by cancer type, treatment, disease status, biological factors such as genetics, and psychosocial factors, and thus cancer pain represents a complex problem with multiple facets (Fillingim, 2017; Dalal and Bruera, 2012). To prevent and treat cancer-related pain, we must develop interventions that acknowledge and capitalize on the interplay between these components.
Interest in the relationship between psychosocial factors and cancer pain has persisted for decades because it provides an interventional target. By addressing psychosocial concerns, pain might be improved or prevented; likewise, effective pain management can improve psychosocial outcomes. Identifying, quantifying, and temporalizing relationships between psychosocial factors and cancer pain is a high priority for both the pain and psycho-oncology fields, as they are interrelated. This Research Topic includes four breaking research studies that identify psychosocial drivers and outcomes of the cancer-related pain experience, as well as a novel intervention that targets their interplay.
The first study examines how personality characteristics can affect the internalization and experience of cancer-related pain. Aho et al. describe how dimensions of personality interact with pain and psychological factors to affect quality of life.
As cancer survivors cope with chronic pain, their acceptance of or accommodation to pain as a new part of their lives can affect their daily functioning, health, and goals. However, many report being undertreated. A second study by Slaghmuylder et al. reports a qualitative analysis to understand survivors' accounts of their pain trajectories and the care they received.
In the third study, Klages et al. explore biopsychosocial risk factors associated with pain among recently diagnosed pediatric patients. Pediatric cancer pain is uniquely challenging to assess and treat due to developmental gaps and limited life experience of a young patient. Understanding associated psychosocial factors, such as the ones in this study, helps identify at-risk children and informs future trials.
Finally, LeBaron et al. address a clinical challenge in cancer pain: capturing a representative story of a person's pain experience between clinical visits. Because pain is highly dynamic, patients often struggle to summarize their pain experience over many days/weeks when asked for their pain level in clinic. LeBaron et al. discuss a novel remote health monitoring system designed to capture patients' and caregivers' pain experiences in real-time.
Collectively, these papers advance knowledge of psychosocial drivers and outcomes of cancer pain. We hope you enjoy this Research Topic.
Statements
Author contributions
BS: Conceptualization, Project administration, Supervision, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. RA: Conceptualization, Project administration, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. JB: Writing – review & editing. CB: Writing – review & editing. KK: Writing – review & editing.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Generative AI statement
The author(s) declare that no Gen AI was used in the creation of this manuscript.
Any alternative text (alt text) provided alongside figures in this article has been generated by Frontiers with the support of artificial intelligence and reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, including review by the authors wherever possible. If you identify any issues, please contact us.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Author disclaimer
The opinions expressed by the authors are their own and this material should not be interpreted as representing the official viewpoint of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, or the National Cancer Institute.
References
1
Dalal S. Bruera E. (2012). Assessing cancer pain. Curr. Pain Headache Rep.16, 314–324. 10.1007/s11916-012-0274-y
2
Fillingim R. B. (2017). Individual differences in pain: understanding the mosaic that makes pain personal. Pain158(Suppl. 1), S11–S18. 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000775
3
Snijders R. A. H. Brom L. Theunissen M. van den Beuken-van Everdingen M. H. J. (2022). Update on prevalence of pain in patients with cancer. Cancer15:591. 10.3390/cancers15030591
Summary
Keywords
cancer pain, psychosocial oncology, psycho-oncology, non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic management, pain interventions
Citation
Streck BP, Altshuler RD, Brant JM, Buskbjerg CR and Kwekkeboom K (2025) Editorial: Psychosocial drivers and outcomes of the cancer-related pain experience. Front. Psychol. 16:1680269. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1680269
Received
05 August 2025
Accepted
22 August 2025
Published
09 September 2025
Volume
16 - 2025
Edited and reviewed by
Anja Mehnert-Theuerkauf, University Hospital Leipzig, Germany
Updates
Copyright
© 2025 Streck, Altshuler, Brant, Buskbjerg and Kwekkeboom.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Brennan P. Streck Brennan.streck@Nih.gov
†These authors have contributed equally to this work
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.