Zhang K, Li ZJ. Identifying neuropathic pain and the effects of perioperative psychological intervention in patients with gastric cancer. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(1): 114337 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i1.114337]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Zi-Jun Li, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Jiujiang City Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy, Jiujiang No. 1 People’s Hospital, No. 48 Taling South Road, Xunyang District, Jiujiang 332000, Jiangxi Province, China. ziyuan0727@126.com
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Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Jan 27, 2026 (publication date) through Jan 28, 2026
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Publication Name
World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
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1948-9366
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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Zhang K, Li ZJ. Identifying neuropathic pain and the effects of perioperative psychological intervention in patients with gastric cancer. World J Gastrointest Surg 2026; 18(1): 114337 [DOI: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i1.114337]
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jan 27, 2026; 18(1): 114337 Published online Jan 27, 2026. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v18.i1.114337
Identifying neuropathic pain and the effects of perioperative psychological intervention in patients with gastric cancer
Ke Zhang, Zi-Jun Li
Ke Zhang, General Surgery Center, Jiujiang City Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy, Jiujiang No. 1 People’s Hospital, Jiujiang 332000, Jiangxi Province, China
Zi-Jun Li, Department of Medical Oncology, Jiujiang City Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy, Jiujiang No. 1 People’s Hospital, Jiujiang 332000, Jiangxi Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang K designed the study, conducted data collection and analyzed the data, drafted the initial manuscript, participated in data verification, and provided critical input on manuscript content refinement; Li ZJ supervised the entire research process, formulated key research directions, revised the manuscript for intellectual content, coordinated peer review responses, and ensured the integrity of the work. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Jiujiang No. 1 People’s Hospital, No. JJSDYRMYY-YXLL-2025-609.
Clinical trial registration statement: This study was registered at the Clinical Trial Center (http://www.researchregistry.com), No. researchregistry11609.
Informed consent statement: All individuals who participated in this study provided written informed consent prior to study enrolment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 Statement.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zi-Jun Li, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Jiujiang City Key Laboratory of Cell Therapy, Jiujiang No. 1 People’s Hospital, No. 48 Taling South Road, Xunyang District, Jiujiang 332000, Jiangxi Province, China. ziyuan0727@126.com
Received: September 17, 2025 Revised: October 22, 2025 Accepted: December 2, 2025 Published online: January 27, 2026 Processing time: 127 Days and 2.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Patients with gastric cancer (GC) often experience complex pain, including a neuropathic component, which may influence their response to perioperative interventions.
AIM
To identify neuropathic pain (NP) components in patients with GC and evaluate the clinical efficacy of perioperative psychological interventions.
METHODS
The study comprised 100 patients with GC who underwent surgical treatment at Jiujiang No. 1 People’s Hospital between April 2022 and April 2025. Using randomized number tables, the participants were allocated into either an observation (n = 50) or control (n = 50) group. The control group received conventional perioperative pain management, while the observation group received additional perioperative psychological interventions. Between-group differences were compared in terms of pain intensity, pain characteristics, anxiety and depression levels, postoperative analgesic consumption, early postoperative recovery, and recovery quality.
RESULTS
On postoperative day 7, both groups exhibited higher Numeric Rating Scale scores for resting and activity pain than that demonstrated on preoperative day 1 (P < 0.05), while Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)-Anxiety and HADS-Depression scores were also lower (P < 0.05). Regarding the primary outcomes, patients in the observation group exhibited lower Numeric Rating Scale scores for resting and activity-related pain and a lower NP-positivity rate than those in the control group (P < 0.05). For the secondary outcomes, patients in the observation group had fewer effective presses for intravenous patient-controlled analgesia, lower morphine equivalents, earlier time to first ambulation, earlier time to first flatus, shorter hospital stays, and higher Quality of Recovery-15 scores compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, their HADS-Anxiety and HADS-Depression scores were also lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Stratified regression analysis revealed significant main effects of group assignment and NP status (P < 0.05), with a significant interaction term between group assignment and NP status (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
Effective identification of the NP component in the patients’ pain, coupled with perioperative psychological interventions, significantly reduced pain intensity and NP-positivity rates. This approach improved anxiety and depressive symptoms, decreased postoperative analgesic use, accelerated early recovery, and enhanced quality of recovery.
Core Tip: Neuropathic pain (NP) components are common but often overlooked in patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer. Identifying NP components and combining standard perioperative pain management with psychological interventions can significantly alleviate pain intensity, reduce NP positivity, improve emotional well-being, and decrease analgesic consumption. Moreover, such identification accelerates postoperative recovery and enhances overall recovery quality, emphasizing the clinical value of integrating psychological care into perioperative pain management.
