Management of Upper Abdominal Cancer Pain

Forty-one patients who had intractable pain from nonresectable or recurrent cancer of the stomach, pancreas, liver, or gallbladder received celiac plexus blocks in which 50 cc of 50% alcohol solution was used. This simple procedure proved effective in controlling the pain without any serious complications in 40 patients and was ineffective in one. With pain eliminated or significantly relieved, the majority of these patients led normal lives until they died.