Immediate effects of single-session music therapy on affective state in patients on a post-surgical oncology unit: A randomized effectiveness study

Kind of blue: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of music interventions in cancer treatment

“…Numbers and duration of music interventions varied from 1 to 8 sessions and 15 to 60 minutes, respectively, and multiple sessions were conducted within a 3‐day to 15‐month schedule. Music intervention was applied during surgery (n = 5), chemotherapy (n = 7), radiotherapy (n = 4), other procedures (n = 5), and hospitalization (n = 4) …”

“…Patients were passively listening to music in 15/25 studies; 13 studies applied recorded music studies and 2 live music . Recorded music offered a self‐reflecting inner musical experience, whereas live music added a shared musical moment together with the musician(s).…”

“…Six studies investigated mood, and 4 were eligible for meta‐analysis showing an overall statistically significant effect (SMD −0.55 [95% CI, −0.98 to −0.13]) . Patient‐preferred live music was applied in 5 studies, patients were actively engaged in 4 studies, and multiple sessions were offered in 4 studies (Figures S3B and S4B).…”

“…Further, most sessions (23/25 studies) were individualized according to the patient's needs. In some studies, patients selected music from 4 or 5 categories of music styles and genres or from a general playlist provided by the investigator, a musician, or music therapist . In these studies, authors targeted the musical content, eg, tempo, melodic quality, repertoire, and instrumentation to the patient's needs during treatment .…”

“…As shown in Figure S2, 19/25 trials used the most preferable randomization procedure, and selective reporting seemed to be at low risk . However, only 6 trials reported concealed allocation in the outcome assessment and data analysis procedure, and 23/25 were rated as “high risk” in blinding of participants and personnel due to the characteristics of intervention . Blinding of outcome assessment was not adequately described in the majority of studies as well as a lack of outcome data, which were apparently incomplete in 8/25 studies …”