Abstract
Objective: Describe pain assessment scales in children with cancer. Bibliographic review: Pain is one of the main and most limiting symptoms in children with cancer. In these children, pain can often be underestimated and underdiagnosed. Properly assessing it is the first step in the correct management, however the misuse of the available tools compromises its treatment. It was observed that the use of tools facilitates pain assessment in children, self-report being the most reliable measure, the use of figures proved to be useful in illiterate children and health technologies increase children's adherence to the process of evaluation. Final considerations: Pain assessment in children is complex and fundamental to direct treatment; therefore, it can change and facilitate the process. One-dimensional scales are the most used in practice, with pain intensity being the most common dimension assessed. However, multidimensional scales are more indicated because they can cause a more comprehensive understanding of pain.