Benefits and risks
pain
ADVERSE EFFECTS, SIDE EFFECTS, REFRACTORY CANCER, BLIND
At the individual level, pain intensity is expected to decrease by the 2nd or 3rd tDCS session, with a more marked improvement after the 5th session. This improvement is expected to last at least 4 days (D8) and up to 16 days (D21) [Side effects are recorded in the electronic observation booklet after each tDCS session (D0, D1, D2, D3, D4) and during the 3 subsequent evaluations (D8, D14 and D21). Side effects [A significant collective benefit could be observed, and tDCS could markedly decrease the length of hospital stay of these patients and their analgesic drug consumption and should therefore have a significant health economics impact. In parallel, the patient’s and caregivers’ quality of life could be significantly improved. In the longer term, continuation of tDCS at home would require a new organization. The development of remote treatment techniques must also be considered [More generally, this protocol raises the issue of clinical research in palliative care patients [In order not to penalize patients in the placebo group, it is planned to lift the blind at D21 and to offer these patients the active treatment outside the protocol. Patients who have been actively treated and whose pain has recurred after D21 will be offered a second treatment outside the protocol.As tDCS is a noninvasive technique with few expected adverse effects, the benefit/risk balance is expected to be highly positive for the patient in this context of refractory cancer pain in the palliative care setting.