The effectiveness of music therapy for patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Yanfei Li; Xin Xing; Xiue Shi; Peijing Yan; Yajing Chen; Meixuan Li; Weiyi Zhang; Xiuxia Li; Kehu Yang

doi:10.1111/jan.14313

The effectiveness of music therapy for patients with cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

J Adv Nurs. 2020 May;76(5):1111-1123. doi: 10.1111/jan.14313. Epub 2020 Feb 19.

Authors

Yanfei Li^{1

2}, Xin Xing³, Xiue Shi^{4

5}, Peijing Yan⁶, Yajing Chen¹, Meixuan Li^{1

2}, Weiyi Zhang^{1

2}, Xiuxia Li^{1

2}, Kehu Yang^{1

2

3

6}

Affiliations

¹ Evidence Based Social Science Research Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
² Key Laboratory of Evidence Based Medicine and Knowledge Translation of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, China.
³ Evidence Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
⁴ Research Institute for Evidence Based Rehabilitation Medicine of Gansu Province, Lanzhou, China.
⁵ Gansu Province Hospital Rehabilitation Center, Lanzhou, China.
⁶ Institution of Clinical Research and Evidence Based Medicine, The Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou, China.

PMID: 32017183
DOI: 10.1111/jan.14313

Abstract
in English, Chinese

Aims: To assess the effectiveness of music therapy on the quality of life, anxiety, depression and pain of patients with cancer.

Design: Systematic review.

Data sources: Five electronic databases were searched in September 2018 for randomized controlled trials evaluating music therapy for patients with cancer.

Review methods: The quality of the studies was assessed using the risk of bias tool recommended by the Cochrane Handbook Version 5.1.0 and the Revman version 5.3 software was used to perform the meta-analysis. The outcomes were overall quality of life, anxiety, depression and pain.

Results: A total of 19 trials evaluating 1,548 patients were included in this study, of which 765 were in the control group and 783 in the experimental group. Compared with standard care, music therapy can significantly increase the score of the overall quality of life in patients with cancer. In addition, music therapy was found to be more effective for decreasing the score of anxiety, depression and pain.

Conclusion: Music therapy can improve the overall quality of life of patients with cancer, with an observed optimal intervention duration of 1-2 months. Meanwhile, anxiety, depression and pain are improved as well. Nevertheless, high-quality trials are still needed to further determine the effects of music intervention in supportive cancer care.

目的: 评估音乐疗法对癌症患者生活质量、焦虑、抑郁情绪以及疼痛感受的效果。设计: 系统评估。数据来源: 2018年9月对五大电子数据库进行检索,以获取评价音乐疗法对癌症患者影响的随机对照试验。评估方法: 采用Cochrane手册(5.1.0版)所推荐的偏倚风险评估工具对研究质量进行评估,同时使用Revman 5.3版软件进行荟萃分析。结果采用整体生活质量、焦虑、抑郁情绪和疼痛感受。结果: 本研究共纳入19项试验,包括1,548 例患者的评价结果,其中对照组765例,实验组783例。与标准护理相比,音乐疗法能显著提高癌症患者的整体生活质量评分。此外,音乐疗法对降低焦虑、抑郁情绪和疼痛感受的评分也更为有效。结论: 音乐疗法能提高癌症患者的整体生活质量,且据观察,最佳干预时间为1-2个月。同时,焦虑、抑郁情绪和疼痛感受也有所改善。然而,未来仍需开展更多高质量的试验,以进一步确定音乐干预在癌症支持性治疗中的作用。.

Keywords: cancer; music therapy; nursing; pain; quality of life; supportive care; systematic review.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Anxiety Disorders / etiology*
Anxiety Disorders / therapy*
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Music Therapy / methods*
Neoplasms / complications*
Neoplasms / psychology*
Quality of Life / psychology*
Stress, Psychological / therapy*

Abstract in English, Chinese

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

Abstract
in English, Chinese