Music Therapy Reduces Radiotherapy-Induced Fatigue in Patients With Breast or Gynecological Cancer: A Randomized Trial.
Author: Alcântara-Silva TR1, de Freitas-Junior R1, Freitas NMA2, de Paula Junior W3, da Silva DJ1,4, Machado GDP3, Ribeiro MKA5, Carneiro JP6, Soares LR1
Affiliation:
11 Federal University of Goias (UFG), Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
22 Centro Brasileiro de Radioterapia, Oncologia e Mastologia (CEBROM), Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
34 Instituto Integrado de Neurociências (IINEURO), Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
43 Araújo Jorge Hospital, Associação de Combate ao Câncer em Goiás (ACCG), Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
55 Associação de Pais e Amigos dos Excepcionais (APAE), Goiânia, GO, Brazil.
66 Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil.
Conference/Journal: Integr Cancer Ther.
Date published: 2018 Apr 1
Other:
Volume ID: 1534735418757349 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1177/1534735418757349. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 265
PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of music therapy on the reduction of fatigue in women with breast or gynecological malignant neoplasia during radiotherapy, since it is one of the most frequent side effects of this type of treatment, and may interfere with self-esteem, social activities, and quality of life.
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial (control group [CG] and music therapy group [MTG]) to assess fatigue, quality of life, and symptoms of depression in women undergoing radiotherapy using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy: Fatigue (FACT-F) version 4, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) version 4, and Beck Depression Inventory in 3 separate times, namely, during the first week of radiotherapy, on the week of the intermediary phase, and during the last week of radiotherapy. Individual 30- to 40-minute sessions of music therapy with the presence of a trained music therapist were offered to participants.
RESULTS: In this study, 164 women were randomized and 116 (63 CG and 53 MTG) were included in the analyses, with mean age of 52.90 years (CG) and 51.85 years (MTG). Participants in the MTG had an average of 10 music therapy sessions, totaling 509 sessions throughout the study. FACT-F results were significant regarding Trial Outcome Index ( P = .011), FACT-G ( P = .005), and FACT-F ( P = .001) for the MTG compared with the CG.
CONCLUSIONS: Individual music therapy sessions may be effective to reduce fatigue related to cancer and symptoms of depression, as well as to improve quality of life for women with breast or gynecological cancer undergoing radiotherapy. Further well-designed research studies are needed to adequately determine the effects of music therapy on fatigue.
KEYWORDS: breast cancer; fatigue; gynecological cancer; music therapy; radiotherapy
PMID: 29633652 DOI: 10.1177/1534735418757349
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