Bradt, J., Dileo, C., Grocke, D., & Magill, L. (2011). Music interventions for improving psychological and physical outcomes in cancer patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 8, CD006911.

 

 

STUDY PURPOSE: To examine the effects of music therapy or music medicine interventions on psychological and physical outcomes in patients with cancer

STUDY TYPE: Systematic review

DATABASES USED: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library 2010, Issue 10), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, LILACS, Science Citation Index, CANCERLIT, MusicTherapyWorld.net, CAIRSS, and ProQuest Digital

KEYWORDS: Music therapy, cancer, and neoplasm

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

• Randomized, controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs
• Patients diagnosed with any type of cancer
• Comparison of the music intervention with standard care alone or in combination with other treatments or placebos

EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Not specified

TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: 773

EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: Study quality was assessed by the authors with a scale developed and described in this study.

• FINAL NUMBER STUDIES INCLUDED = 36 (involving 30 clinical trials)
• TOTAL PATIENTS INCLUDED IN REVIEW = 1,891
• SAMPLE RANGE ACROSS STUDIES: 8–260 patients

• Distress: Two trials examined the involvement of adolescents and children in creating music videos when undergoing stem cell transplantation. The intervention was associated with a nonsignificant lower mean distress score.
• Depression: Five trials were included in a meta-analysis. The pooled estimates did not support any effects of music interventions.
• Body image: One study of 11 women with breast cancer showed that a music intervention was more effective than a cognitive behavioral intervention in improving body image.
• Mood: Pooled estimates from three trials suggest that music interventions may improve mood. Results were inconsistent.

• Pain: Seven trials compared music interventions to standard care. Five of these studies included in the meta-analysis showed a moderate effect of music on pain (standard mean difference = -0.59, 95% CI, -0.92 – -0.27, p = 0.0003).
• Respiratory rate: Two trials showed that music may reduce respiratory rate (mean difference = 2.34, 95% CI, -4.51 – -0.17, p = 0.03).
• No overall significant positive effects were seen for fatigue, physical status, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, immune function, or quality of life.

• Seventeen studies used prerecorded music, and 13 trials involved active patient participation.
• The frequency and duration of interventions varied widely, and in studies with prerecorded music, there was little description of the music was used or selected.
• A large number of the studies had a high risk of bias in the trial methodology.