Prof Dorothy Keefe talks about three posters presented at the 2010 ESMO meeting in Milan. Two of these posters addressed pain management; one investigating the use of a nasal spray to administer pain killers to patients who have trouble swallowing pills, and the second tried to identify the optimal dose combination of oxycodone and pregabal in patients with oncological neuropathic pain. The third poster compared the use of supportive care drugs for patients with low blood counts in different countries. Prof Keeth also speaks about a session addressing the management of skin, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular toxicities in patients treated with targeted therapies.