The WHO Analgesic Ladder turns 20

An appraisal of the WHO Analgesic Ladder on its 20th anniversary is the focus of the current issue of Cancer Pain Release, the publication of the WHO Pain and Palliative Care Communications Program.

The issue features an interview with Dr. Kathleen Foley, former chair of the WHO Expert Committee on Cancer Pain Relief and Active Supportive Care, the group that drafted the WHO guidelines. Praised for its simplicity and clarity, criticized for its omissions, the WHO ladder remains an icon for analgesic drug therapy.

The issue highlights research supporting and refuting the WHO Analgesic Ladder and provides online links to the WHO source documents about the method to relieve cancer pain.

To read this issue online, visit:
www.WHOcancerpain.wisc.edu/eng/19_1/19_1.html

To receive your own print copy of Cancer Pain Release, visit: www.WHOcancerpain.wisc.edu/feedback.html