Preclinical Studies Exploring the Central and Peripheral Mechanisms of Cancer Pain

Pain affects over half of cancer patients, increasing in prevalence and intensity as the disease advances and becoming chronic in a third of cancer survivors. Despite the profound impact of cancer pain on the patient´s quality of life, the standard of care remains dictated by the 3-step analgesic ladder recommended by the World Health Organization, which often does not achieve appropriate pain relief. As cancer pain has its own neurochemical signature, specific analgesics that target cancer pain mechanisms are needed. Thus, understanding the mechanisms underlying cancer pain is critical to develop targeted analgesics that maximize pain relief and minimize side effects. As cancer incidence rises worldwide due to the increasing life expectancy and the implementation of novel anti-cancer therapies, the need for new analgesics that effectively relieve cancer pain has become critical.

In an attempt to discover new treatment avenues that provide better pain relief with fewer side effects, preclinical models of cancer pain have been developed and utilized to unravel the central and peripheral mechanisms of pain and pain relief. The purpose of this Research Topic is to collect the latest knowledge on cancer pain mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets. Through the use of behavioural testing, electrophysiology, optogenetics, molecular biology, cell biology, neuroimaging, and -omics technology we are one step closer to understanding the pathological processes of cancer pain, as well as its pharmacological modulation.

The focus of this special issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:
1. Mechanistic studies on peripheral or central cancer pain signaling.
2. Target validation studies, including identification of novel therapeutic targets or molecules and their role in cancer pain, and testing of known or novel analgesics in animal models of cancer pain.
3. Development of new pre-clinical models or behavioral tests that present improved translational validity in cancer pain research.

While the main focus of this special issue is pre-clinical cancer pain research, exploratory and proof-of-concept clinical studies, as well as mechanistic studies on human tissue, will also be considered.

*Credit: Dr Marna Ericson. Figure was published in Pain, Vol. 115, Wacnik PE, Baker CM, et al., Tumor-induced mechanical hyperalgesia involves CGRP receptors and altered innervation and vascularization of DsRed2 fluorescent hindpaw tumors, pp.95-106, Copyright Elsevier (2005)

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.