The effects of alcohol celiac plexus block, pain, and mood on longevity in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study

Abstract

Objective: This additional analysis of data from a previously reported prospective trial comparing the effect of intraoperative alcohol or saline placebo neurolytic block in patients with pancreatic cancer was conducted in response to the development of a new theory, which explores the relationship of negative mood states to pain, pain-related behavior, and ultimately, longevity.

Methods: The original study used a double-blind procedure to randomly assign 139 patients with histologically proven, unresectable pancreatic cancer to receive either an alcohol or a saline block. Data on visual analog pain, mood, and interference with activity were collected preoperatively and every 2 months postoperatively until death. The current analysis was conducted on the complete data sets received from 130 patients. Demographic data were submitted to chi-square analysis and to univariate and multivariate analysis of variance. Univariate and multivariate analyses of variance also compared 1) the effect of alcohol versus saline on pain, mood, interference of pain with activities, and longevity and 2) the impact of mood on pain with longevity as the dependent variable. Correlation and regression analyses examined the impact of mood on life expectancy.

Results: The alcohol intervention had a significant positive effect on life duration and mood scores. High negative mood states correlated significantly with an increase in visual analog pain, the rating of pain intensity at its worse, and pain interference with patients' activities.

Conclusion: In these subjects, the neurolytic block, as compared with medical management alone, improved pain, elevated mood, reduced pain interference with activity, and was associated with an increase in life expectancy.