Methadone is an effective and sustainable second-line alternative opioid for the treatment of cancer-related pain. The methods of titration are comparable in terms of efficacy, safety, and ease of use.

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The anti-programmed cell-death-1 antibody, nivolumab, has been recently approved for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Although, today, immune-related adverse effects such as dermatologic, digestive, hepatic, and endocrine toxicities are well-known with immune checkpoint inhibitors, rheumatic diseases are less well described. Herein, we report the case of a patient without a history of arthritis who developed polymyalgia rheumatica after 13 cycles of nivolumab used for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Laboratory evidence of inflammatory syndrome, articular echography, and clinical presentation with classical symptoms and also distal manifestations were suggestive of this chronic inflammatory disorder. Because of a relevant pain, clinicians were forced to suspend immunotherapy. Nevertheless, due to glucocorticoid therapy, the patient's symptoms have decreased progressively. Moreover, nivolumab was reintroduced 8 weeks later, whereas prednisone (10 mg) was continued, without any recurrence symptoms. To conclude, our case suggests that polymyalgia rheumatica might be a very disabling anti-programmed cell-death-1 immune-related adverse effect.

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In the field of cancer pain, therapeutic patient education (TPE) allows patients to develop skills to better manage their pain. In the Lower Normandy region of France, the management of pain is based on networking, thus allowing proximity and accessibility for all concerned. We have thus designed and initiated a broad five-stage research program that includes the following: (1) training for caregivers in TPE; (2) identifying the educational expectations of patients and their relatives with regard to cancer pain; (3) the design of a TPE program; (4) the evaluation of its quality; and (5) the evaluation of its effectiveness by comparative randomization. This article presents this approach and more particularly the research phases (stages 2, 4, 5) for which the objectives, the methodology, and the expected results are justified. Among the key points, particular attention is paid to the evaluation of the educational dimension that provides patients with self-efficacy to participate actively in the management of their pain, their perception of changes in relation to it and its impact. The choice of a specific assessment criterion (subscale 9 of the Brief Pain Inventory) and of the step-wedge design are thus argued. This approach, which is based on a partnership between health care professionals and researchers, aims to demonstrate the benefits provided by TPE to patients in order to enable them to better manage their pain on a daily basis.