Hi, thank you for your question. Joint pain can be one of the side effect of cancer and its treatment. It can happen in any joint area. Symptoms include joint pain at rest or with movement, stiffness, swelling, tenderness, warmth, redness, limited range of motion and loss of function.

Some types of cancer are more likely to result in joint pain. Leukemia is one of them. It can cause cancer cells to accumulate in the joints and lead to joint pain. Some cancer treatment also cause joint pain, which can occur anytime during treatment, and usually resolves within weeks to months. These include hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, some types of chemotherapy (bleomycin, cladribine, L-asparaginase, paclitaxel and other taxane-based chemotherapies) and steroid medications.

Besides these, other medications used during cancer treatment can also cause joint pain:
· White blood cell growth factors (filgrastim, pegfilgrastim, and sargramostim) – Helps prevent infetion during cancer.
· Bisphosphonates (alendronate, ibandronate, pamidronate, risedronate, and zoledronic acid) – Treat bone loss.
· Pain medications (piroxicam).

Cancer patients can also have joint pain as a result of other conditions, for example osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, gout, tendonitis and joint infection.
If you have severe joint pain due to cancer treatment, your doctor may suggest another treatment option.

Your doctor may also order some tests such as blood tests, x-rays, computed tomography (CT) scan, bone scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to find out the cause. Joint pain can be treated with pain relievers, corticosteroids, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antibiotics, physiotherapy, stretching exercises, acupuncture, massage, and hot or cold compresses.

Joint pain not only affect patient’s quality of life, it can also worsen other symptoms and cause patients to give up treatment. Talk to your doctor if you experience joint pain. Managing symptoms like this is an important part of cancer treatment.

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