Neuropathic pain in cancer: systematic review, performance of screening tools and analysis of symptom profiles.

Background The objectives of this study were to evaluate the methodological quality of rigorous neuropathic pain assessment tools in applicable clinical studies, and determine the performance of screening tools for identifying neuropathic pain in patients with cancer. Methods Systematic literature search identified studies reporting use of Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS), Douleur Neuropathique en 4 (DN4) or painDETECT (PDQ) in cancer patients with a clinical diagnosis of neuropathic or not neuropathic pain. Individual patient data were requested to examine descriptor item profiles. Results Six studies recruited a total of 2301 cancer patients of which 1564 (68%) r…