Hernandez-Reif, M., Ironson, G., Field, T., Hurley, J., Katz, G., Diego, M., . . . Burman, I. (2004). Breast cancer patients have improved immune and neuroendocrine functions following massage therapy. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57, 45–52.

The intervention consisted of 30-minute progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) sessions three times per week for five weeks versus massage therapy for five weeks versus a control group. Participants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before and after the first and last sessions. Longer-term anxiety effect was examined by comparing pre first day and pre last day measures on the STAI and by the Symptom Checklist (SCL)-90R (revised) anxiety subscale administered on the first and last days of intervention. Blood samples were drawn to evaluate immune response for natural killer (NK) cell production, cytotoxicity, and hormone levels.

The study reported on three groups: PMR (n =  20), massage therapy (n = 22), and control (n = 16).

A three-group experimental study design was used.

• STAI
• SCL-90R

ANOVA on STAI revealed a significant (p < 0.001) group effect on the first day’s change scores; subsequent Bonferroni t tests revealed reduced anxiety scores for the massage and PMR groups when compared to the control group. The longer-term effects (SCL-90R subscale) did not differ significantly among the three groups. Massage therapy demonstrated an increase in dopamine, serotonin, NK cells, and lymphocytes.

This study supports the use of massage treatment and relaxation therapy to reduce anxiety, pain, and depression in women with breast cancer.

• The study had small sample sizes.
• It is not clear whether assignment to the three treatment groups was random, which limits the strength of the study.