Understanding Pain Catastrophizing in Lung Cancer Recovery

For patients recovering from lung cancer surgery, pain is more than a symptom to be measured and managed because thoughts, emotions, and support systems can strongly influence how pain is perceived. New research highlights the prevalence of pain catastrophizing during the postoperative recovery period, underscoring the psychologic and social factors that shape the pain experiences of patients after surgery. A team of researchers from China conducted the study and published their findings in the Journal of Pain Research. It was important to assess the “maladaptive cognitive-affective response” of pain catastrophizing after lung cancer surgery because it is associated with worse outcomes. However, the “mediating pathways” of the factors that correlate with pain catastrophizing are “not fully understood.” The cross-sectional study enrolled 414 patients with early-stage lung cancer from May to August 2025. Eligible participants included individuals who were within the 3-month postsurgical window and were recruited from the ambulatory care, follow-up, and daytime wards at the researchers’ institution. Measurement instruments used in the study included questionnaires, as well as parallel mediation, which was “tested by structural equation modeling.” According to the initial results, the average score for pain catastrophizing was 30.49±6.27. Furthermore, pain catastrophizing was “positively correlated with pain intensity, interoceptive awareness, and negative attentional bias, and negatively correlated with social support.” Social support had the most “prominent effect” on patients (31.05%), while interoceptive awareness, negative attentional bias, and social support combined “accounted for 59.81% of the total effect.” Individually, interoceptive awareness and negative attentional bias accounted for 5.51% and 5.91% of the total effect, respectively. The results showed that pain catastrophizing levels were moderate to high among patients who had undergone surgery for early-stage lung cancer. In addition, pain intensity is “directly and indirectly related” to catastrophizing. To more effectively reduce and prevent pain catastrophizing, the investigators recommended that healthcare professionals “develop a multidimensional, phased, and integrated intervention framework including pain management, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness training” to better support patients through their postoperative recovery.